Smith: It's a positive start to the weekend

Bradley Smith was third fastest after a “positive start to the Aragon weekend” by the Tech3 rider. Smith trailed only the factory Yamaha riders and looked comfortable and fast throughout the day.

“It has been a positive start to the Aragon MotoGP weekend and third is definitely a good position to close day one in,” said Smith. “As soon as we kicked off proceedings this morning, I felt comfortable on the bike and I was able to quickly find a solid rhythm. Then in the afternoon, we worked more with the hard compound in order to evaluate the potential for the race.

“The front is positive yet the rear is not quite as strong but it is still working well at this track. Moreover, we made some steps forward with the electronics regarding both the engine braking and the traction control, which I am pleased about. So tomorrow, we will now work a bit more on the race pace and the setting in order to have a good performance for the whole GP on Sunday.

Smith said that the team needed to improve front stability some corners with the Englishman echoing the thoughts of his teammate, Pol Espargaro, by saying that through faster corners on maximum lean that the Yamaha was in need of grip.