Bradley Throws the Dice For Stunning Podium
- Sep 14, 2015
- 2 min read
Bradley Smith has enjoyed a superb season thus far on the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha YZR-M1, and as a result sits top satellite rider with 5th in the standings on 135 points.
It was likely to be another strong race for the Briton after another strong qualifying performance that saw him start 6th on the grid. But the weather, as it did for everyone, made his race that bit more complicated. Whilst everyone came in to change to their wet bikes on laps six, seven and eight, Smith decided to take a gamble and stay out on slick tyres in the ever decreasing track conditions.
As the rain fell heavier this looked to have been a race-ruining decision, as Smith found himself right at the back of the field lapping at well over two minutes. The precipitation eased with fifteen laps still to journey, and the humid air meant that the track was drying quickly. More and more riders reverted back to their dry bikes, whilst Bradley was left to reap the rewards of his bravery. With seven laps to go, the Factory Yamahas finally coming into the pits, Smith found himself crossing the line a career best 2nd.
“I am thrilled with this finish as I feel that I earned it today even though it was a big gamble! It was very difficult to make the right decisions in the race and I tried to make a few calculations in my head. I looked at the sky before it started and I said to myself that if it rains, it will only be for a short while and I hoped it would dry quickly. However, I still don't know how the new surface would be in the wet. My decision to stay out was initially because I missed the lap when Jorge and Vale pitted so I carried on and I believed that the rain had slowed down slightly. At this point I already had lost a lot of time, therefore I thought it would be best to wait a few laps and see what happens and when it stopped I knew the gamble could work as I realised that they might have to pit twice. Furthermore, I kept saying to myself that luck favours the brave which motivated me even further and here I am! My race position kept going up and to finally come home 2nd is very special.”
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