Bradley Smith and Mike Di Meglio discuss their role in the Aragon Moto2 race – one of the best Moto2 races yet. Full Tech 3 Moto2 Race Report below:

Smith and di Meglio show fighting spirit in Aragon thriller

Bradley Smith proved once again why he is one of the toughest competitors in the Moto2 World Championship after he produced a heroic fightback into the top six in today’s Motorland Aragon race.

And it was almost a double top 10 finish for the Tech 3 Racing Team after Mike di Meglio produced an outstanding ride to finish 12th, the former 125cc World Champion finishing less than 1.5s away from fifth at the end of a thrilling race.

Smith’s awesome surge through the field was one of the highlights for a crowd of over 63,000 fans packed into the state-of-the-art Motorland Aragon track. The 20-year-old finished the first lap in 16th before embarking on an overtaking masterclass. He moved inside the top 10 on lap 16, as he engaged in an enthralling fight with nine other riders contesting fifth position.

He started the final lap in eighth place but two more brilliant passes on Mika Kallio and Thomas Luthi secured him a seventh top six finish of the campaign.

The race was one of the best of the season for di Meglio, who made a lightning start from 19th on the grid to gain 10 places on the opening lap. Immediately able to set a fast pace, di Meglio’s climb up the order continued when he moved into seventh place two laps later.

After eight laps di Meglio was only 2.3s away from the front and by the end of lap 10 he’d brilliantly forced his way to the back of the leading group of nine riders.

In a frenetic conclusion to the race, di Meglio finished 12th to score points for the third time of the season. He was only 1.3s behind Smith, a result which gives him great encouragement for the final four races of the Championship.

Bradley Smith 6th – 112 points:
“Nobody can say I don’t like working hard for my results after that. I had a bad start and it took a little while for me to get into my rhythm and find a good feeling with the tyres. I was a little bit worried at the beginning as there were many riders in front of me and I thought it might be difficult to reach the top 10. But I kept improving my pace and got more comfortable with the Tech 3 Racing Team bike and I started to make my way forward. As I was overtaking people I kept thinking this might be the last one but I just put my head down. It was definitely a crazy battle but really good fun. There were a lot of close moves and I loved every minute of it. It was something that I haven’t done for a while and holding my own in a tough fight is something I’ve been told I’m no good at, so I put a few things straight this weekend. We did a good job to finish sixth having started 15th. We didn’t quite get the result that I was looking for, but I learnt a lot in this race and although I lost some points to Iannone and de Angelis in the Championship, I am confident for the last four races.”

Mike di Meglio 12th – 12 points:
“That was an amazing race and it was all thanks to my fantastic start. I just attacked from the off and at the end of the first lap I’d gained ten places and fought my way through to ninth. From that point on it was one of the best races I’ve experienced in Moto2 because there was no chance to relax even for one second. It was a lot of fun with many overtakes, but what was difficult for us was my engine it was a bit slow compared to the other riders. I needed to push very strong in the corners to follow the others. I am sad that I lost too much time when I tried to pass, but it was still a brilliant race and I got points in the Championship. Twelfth doesn’t sound like a fantastic result but considering how close the gap is to fifth, I can’t be too hard on myself and I can look forward to the flyaway races in Japan, Australia and Malaysia in optimistic mood.”

Hervé Poncharal – Team Manager:
“That was a typically chaotic Moto2 race again where there was a lot of action in a lot of places and you couldn’t take your eyes of the race for one second. We were clearly very competitive this weekend but unfortunately a small crash on Saturday morning ruined Bradley’s qualifying and starting from 15th makes it very difficult. We got to show our true potential again in the warm-up when he was third, so we started the race with high hopes that he could fight his way through to the top six. This time the start of the race was not very good and for a few laps he was out of the points, but Bradley never gave up and pushed really hard. He was lapping at the same pace as the leading group and making some brilliant overtakes that showed when the lights go out he is one of the most determined guys on the grid. Considering where we started and where we were for the first few laps, we can’t be unhappy to finish in sixth. This shows how good the Mistral 610 package is and how good and motivated Bradley is. I have to say big congratulations to Mike too. He had a great start and all through the race he was fighting for a top 10. At one stage he was closing on the leading group at a really fast rate and I think we saw the true Mike di Meglio today, because he rode with a lot of aggression. Unfortunately there was so much happening at the end that he ended up 12th, but four-points in the Championship is a good result for him.”

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