Bradley Smith vows to learn from Qatar error

Bradley Smith has vowed to learn from the early mistake that ended his MotoGP debut in Qatar after just five laps.

The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider was pushing to move back inside the top 10 when he lost the front-end of his YZR-M1 machine at Turn 7.

Smith said: “We changed the bike from the warm-up to the race to get more entry grip and it worked. Going in I could carry loads more speed and I had a lot of confidence but unfortunately I crashed out.

“Going into the left before Turn 7 it feels great because you trail the brake all the way in and dig it in, turn in and go.

“But in seven where you are not trailing the brake into the corners, the front is high and unfortunately that was that. It is a learning experience and I will learn from it.”

The Oxfordshire rider had claimed a brilliant place on the third row with Italian legend Valentino Rossi and Alvaro Bautista and he got an amazing start to briefly push into the top six on the drag to the first corner.

He told MCN: “I was really calm before the race. I had the objective to finish the race. We know the Yamaha is good over race distance and we can see that with Valentino and Jorge (Lorenzo).

“We knew on old tyres even from testing that I was going to be ok. I just needed to get through those first three laps and be in contact with the group in front and chip away as the race went on.

“I got an unbelievable start. I was a bit of a girl into the first corner but I don’t know what carbon brakes do at that point and I didn’t want to be the guy that is known as the bowling ball.

“I went into this race with the intention of finishing. I took it steady in the first couple of laps to find my feet and then I was feeling comfortable and pushing forward and lost the front.”

For coverage of the opening MotoGP race in Qatar, see today’s issue of Motor Cycle News.