In the latest of his exclusive columns for Crash.net, 15-year-old British schoolboy Bradley Smith reviews the Italian and Catalan Grands Prix, his sixth and seventh races as a 125cc grand prix rider for the Repsol Honda team...
Hi all,
It's been a couple of races since we last spoke; a couple of races where things have been getting better as I learn what it’s like on the world championship stage.
Mugello was a struggle. In the wet it was OK, but in the dry I don’t know what went wrong. I tried to follow people in the last few minutes of qualifying, but I dropped from 8th to 32nd place in one go and I really don’t know why.
I think I fell into the age old trap of feeling that I was riding 'slower' when I was 8th, then when I was 32nd. My team kept me out in order to get a tow but eventually being way down the order for the race was not great and I ended up 19th at the finish.
I was looking forward to Catalunya as I'd raced there once before in the Spanish Championship (last year). I had a really good start in that race, but touched the back wheel of my team-mate out of the last corner and loads of people barrelled past, dropping me to 13th - but I eventually salvaged ninth out of it.
The next time I rode at the track was during the IRTA test at the start of the year, but it was quite cold then and the conditions were much, much warmer for the grand prix. Because of the weather I had to keep drinking plenty of water - not as much as Qatar obviously - but it was still a lot.
Friday first qualifying was difficult as it rained only a matter of moments into the session, leaving most of us with just four fast laps, but I bagged a best-so-far 6th. However, conditions were fully dry for Saturday's second qualifying session - meaning that the Friday times would all be beaten - and I was reasonably pleased to be 21st out of the 43 riders. My new aim is to be within two seconds of the pole position time, which I just missed out on doing.
