Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider Pol Espargaro produced a fantastic qualifying performance to seal 4th place on the grid for tomorrow’s round 14 at Aragon. The young Spaniard started the day brilliantly by finishing FP3 in 3rd position with a best lap of 1’48.377 which was only a quarter of a second from the leading rider. Espargaro then claimed 7th during the FP4 session after undertaking some final adjustments to his Yamaha YZR-M1 under the bright Spanish sun to prepare for Sunday’s race. The reigning Moto2 world champion’s hot form continued as the fifteen minute shootout commenced and ended superbly as he blasted over the finish line with a strong result of 1’47.865 which will see him begin the 23 lap race at the head of the second row. The 23 year old rookie’s efforts today give him the perfect platform to fight for the title of the leading satellite bike at the 5078 meter circuit tomorrow in front of his home crowd.

On the other side of the Monster Yamaha Tech3 garage, Bradley Smith will start from the fourth row in 11th after unfortunately falling whilst campaigning for a strong qualifying position. The British rider began his day well by setting the 6th quickest time in FP3 with a 1’48.615 which was less than three tenths from his team mate in 3rd and already 0.239 faster than his qualifying time from last year. This convincing performance enabled him to pass straight into Q2 and highlighted his rate of improvement plus his ambition for the qualifying. As the session began, the British star ran his first few laps to gather momentum, before pitting and changing to the second tyre. However, whilst beginning his charge Smith lucklessly fell, yet his earlier lap of 1’48.810 confirmed 11th. However, he remains fully determined for the race where he intends to undertake a flying start and score a positive result at the MotorLand Aragon circuit aboard the Yamaha YZR-M1.

Pol Espargaro - Position : 4th - Time : 1'47.865 Laps : 8

"From the very first practice this weekend I had a good feeling on the bike and to score a 4th position in qualifying is definitely something we have to be happy about. I didn't make things easy for myself as I was very nervous during my first run, probably because I knew that I should have been faster than some of the other riders, so I pushed too much and didn't feel too comfortable with the rear tyre. During the pit stop we made a small modification and I calmed myself down, so when I found myself behind Pedrosa on the out lap I was sure we could do a good job. To start on second row is really positive but we still need to continue working as the conditions tomorrow will change a lot. For sure the temperature and grip level will be different so we have to be prepared to fight with the factory bikes. In any case I will give it my all to please the crowd here in Spain."

Bradley Smith - Position : 11th Time : 1'48.810 Laps : 5

"After a truly positive and productive day it is of course disappointing to finish the qualifying in this manner. At the end of my out lap in preparation for my second run, I was looking for someone to follow like Valentino, Pol and Bradl who were all behind me and I thought getting a tow would have helped me to squeeze an extra tenth or so. Unluckily I did not consider that there were a lot of right handed corners at that point of the circuit and after changing to a left corner, the tyre was slightly cold and I had a big highside. However the day was still positive regardless of the end result as we worked on the setting and electronics in order to preserve the tyre as tomorrow it will be a tricky race and tyre life seems to be the main issue here. It’s a disadvantage to start that far back but I believe in terms of the lap times, it will be close and there’s a long way to the finish flag. I know how vital a good start is, especially with the short run to the first corner and even though I will have to pick my way through the field, I am still confident for the fight."


.