MotoGP: Bradley Smith sets surprising pace on Friday in Le Mans
The surprise of the day at the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France came from Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) who, in FP2, put on the fastest lap of the day with a 1:34.179.
While all the riders improved on their morning times in FP2, Smith seemed to be inspired - either by the fact that it was the home race for his French team, or by the equally impressive performance of his compatriot Danny Kent in Moto3.
British fans have dreamed of a day dominated by Brit riders and this was the closest they have come in a while, only missing Sam Lowes at the top of the time sheets in Moto2.
After a great weekend in Jerez, Jorge Lorenzo achieved the second-best time after a consistently fast session, with Andrea Dovizioso third. The Italian had been first in FP1, perhaps trying to set the stage for Ducati victory at Le Mans - something that has never happened before.
Cal Crutchlow (CWM-LCR Honda) was fourth in both sessions of the day, while in fifth position on the combined times list was MotoGP World Champion Marc Márquez, who spent the morning testing different components such as the swingarm which premiered at the recent test at Jerez. At the beginning of the session he suffered an electrical problem that forced him to walk back to the pits.
The current championship leader Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) ended in sixth place, only one place above the newly-returned Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team), who makes a comeback this weekend after his arm-pump problems forced a temporary withdrawal since the first race of the year in Qatar.
Pol Espargaró (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and his brother Aleix (Team Suzuki Ecstar) ended the day together, in eighth and ninth positions respectively. Pol had a great weekend at Le Mans last year as a rookie, finishing the race in fourth. That, combined with the fact that his teammate Smith was fastest on Friday and that this is the local race for his team, means it would not be shocking to see Pol put on a good show on Sunday.
Pol’s brother Aleix was experimenting with different tire compounds on his GSX-RR during Free Practice. He ended the day ninth and continues the difficult task of racing an all-new machine, testing and setting up his bike for the first time for almost every circuit in the 2015 season.
The second official Ducati Team rider, Andrea Iannone, finished in a creditable 11th. The rider returned to action this week after dislocating his left shoulder in a scheduled test at Mugello.
Click here for the full combined results.
