Smith Secures 2nd In Championship With 2nd At Sepang
Although overall it was a pretty grim day for the MotoGP Brits – Danny Webb crashing out, Scott Redding retiring, and James Toseland coming home 15th and last in the top class, at least Bradley Smith was able to enjoy another great outing coming home second in a superb race with Julian Simon and simultaneously securing second position in the overall championship standings.
The 125cc Malaysian Grand Prix followed the script of the previous week’s Australian race almost to the letter, both in its main players and the development of the plot. A group of a dozen riders pushed hard from the outset, with two of those amongst their number -Nico Terol and Bradley Smith- in with a chance of taking the runner-up spot in the World Championship. Although Smith was once again in a fight with teammate and new titlist Julián Simón, this time the Briton nearly made an escape to victory. On lap three Simón pulled away, but Smith reacted and made two speedy laps to try and create space between them. In the end the duel saw the Spaniard victorious, following up on his title triumph.
Simón and Smith were riding almost side-by-side by the tie lap nine came around, having started from the front row and shown their respective hands early. The fastest lap of the race went to Smith, with a 2’14.068 that he used to catch back up to the 2009 champ. Simón made clear that he was not taking things easy with the pressure of the title off his shoulders, whilst his teammate’s result took him to second in the championship with an unassailable advantage. It is Smiths best finish in his Grand Prix career, and also confirms a 2009 1-2 for the Bancaja Aspar team.
2nd Bradley Smith:
“I think that I had the best pace of the weekend in the race. I had a moment where I passed Julián and was trying to break free, but I made a mistake that cost me a few metres. I am happy because myself and Julián both had a good battle, just like in Australia. Last week I ost because he rode perfectly, but this time it was a bit more my fault as I made an error on the last turn. Luckily my foot injury didn’t affect things too much, although yesterday the crash made the break that I picked up in Estoril bigger. I took painkillers that helped me take the discomfort for more or less the entire time, and I hope that I can have another fight with my teammate next time out in the final race of the year -this time with me winning! We took the runner-up spot today, and it is a great achievement for the team to take first and second in the championship.”
Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1. Julian Simon Aprilia 42m50.916s
2. Bradley Smith Aprilia + 1.114s
3. Pol Espargaro Derbi + 6.293s
4. Sergio Gadea Aprilia + 8.003s
5. Nicolas Terol Aprilia + 8.485s
6. Sandro Cortese Derbi + 10.188s
7. Esteve Rabat Aprilia + 15.114s
8. Andrea Iannone Aprilia + 22.151s
9. Joan Olive Derbi + 26.388s
10. Lorenzo Zanetti Aprilia + 27.113s
11. Takaaki Nakagami Aprilia + 27.859s
12. Michael Ranseder Aprilia + 34.838s
13. Randy Krummenacher Aprilia + 41.829s
14. Dominique Aegerter Derbi + 42.433s
15. Luis Salom Aprilia + 51.635s
16. Elly Ilias Aprilia + 59.854s
17. Cameron Beaubier KTM + 1m07.131s
18. Jasper Iwema Honda + 1m14.171s
19. Jakub Kornfeil Loncin + 1m27.651s
20. Muhammad Zulfahmi Yamaha + 1m58.779s
21. Blake Leigh-Smith Honda + 2m06.062s
22. Quentin Jacquet Aprilia + 1 lap
