Spanish interest in 125cc Catalan battle

With the Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya being the home race for several of the riders in the 125cc class Englishman Bradley Smith knows if he wants to repeat his Jerez and Mugello victories at Montmeló he will have to fend off strong challenges from a number of Spanish riders.

The Bancaja Aspar rider is highly familiar with the track from his time in the MotoGP Academy and Spanish national championship, but he does not have a great GP record at the Barcelona venue - his best result being sixth place in 2007.

Smith has gained considerable experience since then and in his current run of good form he will aim to prevent his Spanish team-mate Julián Simón from taking the win, with just 3.5 points separating the pair at present. Like Smith, Simón also has a somewhat modest Catalunya CV, having achieved his best result there back in 2005 in eighth place.

After his strong start to the year Andrea Iannone’s season has taken a turn for the worse in recent weeks so he will be looking to recapture his form at round six, whilst fellow top five representatives Pol Espargaró and Sergio Gadea are both on home territory this weekend. Espargaró was second in last year’s race at the track which is within a short scooter ride of his Granollers home.

Also going into the second Spanish race of the year in the top ten are two additional Spaniards, Marc Márquez and Nico Terol, who presently sit sixth and eighth respectively in the classification.