Jerez MotoGP: Smith leads Brit trio in top 8

Aspar Aprilia rider Bradley Smith scored a slot on the front of the 125cc Spanish GP in qualifying today, and led a trio of Brits into the top eight positions for tomorrow’s 23-lap race.

Smith punted round the 2.75-mile Jerez track in 1m 48.434s, to finish just 0.197s slower than his team-mate, the 22-year-old Spaniard Julian Simon. Championship leader Andrea Iannone (Aprilia) finished third fastest, on 1m 48.519s.

Three out of four British riders qualified for the two front rows, with the 16-year-old Gloucestershire rider Scott Redding (Blusens Aprilia) in seventh place, and the 18-year-old Danny Webb (Aprilia) in eighth place.

The race will mark Smith’s 50th start in 125cc GPs, and the 18-year-old will hope that he can claim his first ever victory after three years of experience in the eighth-litre class.

1. Simon (Aprilia) 1min 48.237sec
2. Smith (Aprilia) +0.197sec
3. Iannone (Aprilia) +0.282sec
4. Marquez (KTM) +0.694sec
5. Gadea (Aprilia) +0.718sec
6. Aegerter (Derbi) +1.000sec
7. Redding (Aprilia) +1.073sec
8. Webb (Aprilia) +1.116sec
9. Cortese (Derbi) +1.125sec
10. Espargaro (Derbi) +1.163sec

34. Hoyle (Haojue) +8.063sec (DNQ)