Catalunya MotoGP: Bradley Smith thrilled with second

Bradley Smith was thrilled with his best result of the 2010 125GP world championship campaign after an epic last lap in Catalunya yesterday.

The Oxfordshire rider’s podium hopes looked to have been ended when dropped back from second to fourth at the first corner on the final lap.

But he produced a brilliant late attack to firstly retaliate against Aspar Aprilia team-mate Nicolas Terol.

And the 19-year-old then blasted by Pol Espargargo on the back straight before defending superbly over the last few corners to claim his second rostrum finish in the last three races. 

The race was dominated by Derbi rider Marc Marquez who claimed his fourth straight win to seize the lead in the world championship for the first time this season.

Smith, who had never finished higher than sixth at the technical circuit near Barcelona, said: “I decided to push hard from the start, but it was clear that this race was going to be tough -and that a small mistake would cost me as much as it did in Assen. Marc Marquez was clever though, and was able to slip away.

“Then I turned my attention to Terol and Espargaro, studying their lines in order to determine where to make a pass. Being in their slipstream served me well, because I could ride calmly and without taking too many risks. I was confident on every braking point, and kept telling myself that I couldn’t let this podium place out of my grasp.

“This confidence helped me a lot on the second section, where I hadn’t been so good during the weekend. I waited until the end to overtake, and then just focused on closing the gaps. It’s a good result and I am happy with it.”

Team-mate Terol suffered last lap heartache when he crashed out while trying counter attack against Espargaro for the final podium place.
He suffered a vicious high-side and was detained in hospital for precautionary checks having suffered heavy bruising to his back.