Mixed feelings for Crutchlow and Smith

Small crash for Smith on day one

Tuesday, 26 February 2013

It was Cal Crutchlow who led the way for Monster Yamaha Tech 3, finishing sixth as MotoGP™ testing continued in Malaysia on Tuesday. However it was new teammate Bradley Smith who was most pleased, having continued to progress along the learning curve en route to a top ten placing.

“I wouldn’t really call it testing because we haven’t really got much to test, but I’m happy,” Crutchlow said in a motogp.com video interview. “We’re just going through the motions, but it’s difficult. The track conditions are really bad, so we’ve seen a few people crash today. Having said that, you learn on every lap with a MotoGP bike so it’s all experience.”

Smith will make his race debut in the premier class when 2013 season begins in Qatar. Today, he suffered a small incident as trying conditions tested the field.

“It was actually a really good day,” the 22-year-old reported. “The different track conditions made a new learning experience, so it was of benefit to me. Unfortunately I had a little crash towards the middle of the day, just losing the front in Turn 7 – it was my mistake, still being a rookie and trying to understand where the limit is with the tyres and the bike, at that point I just didn’t know and went into the corner too fast.”

Testing continues from 10am local time (3am CET) on Wednesday.