Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider Bradley Smith fought the dusty track conditions on the opening day of the final pre season test in Qatar to finish in 9^th position as the start of the 2015 campaign draws closer. The young British rider jumped back on his Yamaha YZR-M1 and set 43 laps as he undertook a shake down and reconfirmed the setup options which he established in Sepang. Despite the track surface being sprinkled with dust at the beginning of the session, Smith got to work in the desert and produced a best time of 1’55.954 on his 41st lap. This result left him only four tenths of a second back from 3rd and the British rider optimistically looks to make further steps forward tomorrow.

Meanwhile on the other side of the Monster Yamaha Tech3 garage, Pol Espargaro concluded the first day in 14^th after posting a best time of 1’56.615, which he set on his 31st lap. As the sun set, Espargaro battled onwards and tirelessly ran a total figure of 50 laps, the joint highest number completed, whilst undertaking adjustments to his Yamaha YZR-M1. The young Spaniard will be back in the saddle tomorrow afternoon where he will intend to bridge the gap to the leading MotoGP riders as there are two additional days of testing left at the Losail International circuit in Qatar which is the scene of the opening race on the 29th of March.

"It’s very nice to be back at Qatar which is a track that I enjoy and I have had some good results at in the past. Overall, I am quite satisfied with my performance on the first day and to finish only four tenths from third is positive. We didn’t change the base setup which we were using in Sepang, aside from a few small modifications which were necessary, so we know we did a great job in Malaysia. Today I concentrated on undertaking long distance runs in order to prepare myself for race situations with the overall conclusion being positive. For sure, there is a bit of a gap to the front but the riders who were using a softer tyre obviously had an advantage because the grip level was low, as it always is on the first day at Qatar. However, this is likely to improve in the next two days and when this happens we will have more grip especially in the corners which is where our strengths are, so I feel confident about lowering my time further and moving up the field."

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"It was a tricky start to the three day test in Qatar and to be honest, I didn’t feel as comfortable as I would have liked to as the conditions were strange and I wasn’t totally happy on the bike. The main issue was the front feeling as I didn’t have a lot of feedback from it. Because of this, I couldn’t feel how hard I was braking nor could I gauge the level. It was truly challenging but it could be because of the different compound of tyre that we used, which was not the same as last year. However, tomorrow we will try the other tyre option which is closer to what we used twelve months ago. There are still two days left, so we remain positive and I am sure we can make some steps forward."

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