Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider Bradley Smith kicked off proceedings in a firm and encouraging manner to clinch 5th position in the morning's overcast yet dry practice session with his time only 0.385 behind his teammate who topped FP1. The clouds withdrew in the afternoon and glorious sunshine soaked the 4542 metre legendary Assen circuit where Smith persevered to notably improve his morning time by over 6 tenths of a second which meant that it was also quicker than last year's pole position. The 23-year-old British rider set his best time with his Yamaha YZR-M1 around the fast flowing track on his 20th and final FP2 lap which resulted in him being just over two tenths of a second from 3rd position and in 6th position. Smith's strong start to the weekend sees him prepared and geared up for tomorrow's qualifying session, illustrating his clear intentions to finish round 8 of the Moto GP world championship as the leading satellite bike.

Pol Espargaro began the opening practice period in superb form by finishing in 1st position after setting a phenomenal time of 1.34,530 which was a just over a tenth away from last year's pole position time. Furthermore, the reigning Moto2 world champion blazed through the speed trap at 312.7 kilometres per hour to set the quickest speed of the weekend so far. In the afternoon session Espargaro who visits the Iveco Daily TT Assen Grand prix for the first time aboard his Yamaha YZR-M1 MotoGP bike, continued his confident streak to set a best time of 1.34,408, only slightly over one tenth of a second back from his teammate. With his pace already up to speed, the 23-year-old Catalan is confident to be able to compete for another top grid spot in qualifying tomorrow.

Bradley Smith - Position : 6th Time :1'34.286 Laps : 41

"Overall I am very pleased with how the first day of practice in Assen has gone. The settings and speed we found through our work at the post Barcelona GP test has been carried straight over to this round and I have been able to ride comfortably and at pace from the start. There weren't too many modifications that needed to be undertaken today but we still tried a few settings for both the rear and the front of the bike to increase stability for this high speed track, especially when compared to the layout of Barcelona. However, now we will use this afternoon to analyse today's data to make further steps of progress, to be prepared for what will be a tough contest in qualifying."

Pol Espargaro - Position : 8th - Time :1'34.408 Laps : 43

"Today has been a really positive opening to the weekend here in Assen and I can't deny that it was nice to finish the morning session on the top of the timesheets for the very first time in MotoGP. Now we will keep working hard to one day be in the same position on a Sunday afternoon. However, the big positive from today is that our rhythm is very close to my fastest lap time as I didn't really manage to squeeze the last bit out of my bike and me during my fast lap. But I did the whole session on my own and normally it's not easy for me to understand the right line during the very first day so I am truly pleased and convinced that we still have plenty of margin to improve tomorrow."


.