Smith: “A tricky day of racing for me”

On the opening lap of the German GP Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) came into contact with Yonny Hernandez (Pull & Bear Aspar Team) and lost his left knee slider as a result. This made Smith’s life very difficult; riders use extra thick-knee sliders in the wet to help gauge conditions and help keep themselves off the floor, and without one Smith was struggling. Fortunately the weather, which had been wet but was quickly drying, allowed Smith to enter the pits to change bikes and also get a new knee slider fitted. He immediately went faster and was able to salvage 13th place.

Smith leaves the German GP disappointed he was unable to bring home more points. With a total of 35 championship points Smith is 16th in the standings and is 37 points behind his teammate. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team did not attend the private test at the Red Bull Ring, Smith spending a day at Silverstone for a Yamaha promotional event.

Bradley Smith: “It goes without saying that it was a tough GP, but I did the best that I could in what was a tricky day of racing for me. On the opening lap, Hernandez hit me and knocked off my left knee slider. This would have been an issue in the dry, but in the wet, where the sliders are thicker, it was even more of a challenge. I made the call to pit and change to the bike with the intermediate tyres at the correct moment. Yet, we also had to put a new knee slider on in the pit lane and this had a knock-on effect. When I returned to the track, we had already lost a lot of time so it was damage limitation and I recovered a couple of places. It was a frustrating end to the weekend because the team deserve more than three points and of course I want to be fighting for the top independent position. However, one positive that we can take away from this weekend is that I had good pace on the intermediate tyres and I was one of the faster guys for a period. At the moment, we can’t seem to catch a lucky break, but I am fit and healthy as we go into the summer break so I will stay positive. I will work hard in the next three weeks in order to come back much stronger and therefore, be ready for the second half of the season.”