Good Phillip Island Start For Bradley In Friday Practice
The pessimists amongst the weather forecasters were defied this afternoon as the rain showers steered clear of Phillip Island and, despite the strong winds that made riding conditions difficult, the 125cc riders were able to make the most of a dry track surface. Lap times were some two seconds off the record pace set here in 2006 but that didn’t mean the session wasn’t interesting as some nine riders battled for top spot and lapped within a second of each other.
It was a good start for Bancaja Aspar’s Bradley Smith, who spent much of the session trying a variety of set-up solutions designed to combat the wind, chasing faster lap times in the final ten minutes. Taking advantage of the slipstream offered by a group of riders, the Brit set a final lap of 1’38.690 to finish the session in second place behind Pol Espargaró.
2nd Bradley Smith 1.38.690 (26 laps):
“Today went quite well. It is really important to make the most of the slipstream here, as my last lap proved, otherwise the wind can cost you a lot of time. I got into a group on that last lap and knocked almost a second off the times I had been setting on my own. My feeling with the Aprilia was quite good and the bike was pretty stable even with the wind. I usually struggle to cope with wind but the set-up we had for today worked well and I’m really pleased with it. The grip improved on every lap and we were able to get the weekend off to a good start. Hopefully the weather stays stable tomorrow so that we can continue to improve.”
