Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team rider Bradley Smith battled his way to 8th position in the demanding 23 lap sprint around the MotorLand Aragon circuit today aboard the Yamaha YZR-M1. When the lights went out, the young Briton undertook a decent start from 10th to close the first lap one position higher from where he began. He then built up his speed before firmly setting into his race rhythm as he confidently attempted to force his way into the top six. By the end of the 7th lap, Smith was running comfortably in 6th as he homed in on Andrea Dovizioso ahead. However, he unfortunately ran wide eleven laps from the end and was shuffled back two places. Nevertheless, the 24 year old remained focused and set his sights on closing back in on the fierce fight for 5th, with Cal Crutchlow in front of him. Smith pushed onwards as he continued to plug the gap and on the last lap he was still right behind Crutchlow, but despite his best efforts, he fired across the finish line in 8th. The result sees the young British rider still hold his record of completing every round this season in no lower than 8th. Furthermore, he remains as one of only three MotoGP riders who have concluded every race and he will now confidently head to Japan for the 15th event of the 2015 World Championship.
Meanwhile, Pol Espargaro finished the MotoGP race one position behind his teammate after producing a resolute effort in front of 67,000 Spanish fans. The young Spaniard got off to a solid start today by completing the morning’s warm up practice in 3rd position, leaving him fully optimistic of a good run in the afternoon’s race. When the fight began, Espargaro lunged forward from the head of the second row and diced with the factory MotoGP riders as he closed the first lap in 6th. He was running in 5th one lap later as he looked to mount a challenge to battle the front runners, but unfortunately he then slipped back to 9th on the 4th lap. Yet, Espargaro remained fully determined as he undertook a recovery charge to close back in on the group in front. At just over half race distance the 2013 Moto2 World Champion was closing in as he joined the pack of five, including his teammate fighting for 5th. He did his best to move in on Smith, despite suffering with an issue with his gear lever, yet time ran out before the chequered flag was waved. Next up for the 24 year old is the Motul Grand Prix of Japan where he intends to achieve a strong finish aboard the Yamaha YZR-M1.
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