Bradley Smith says he’s been able to continue his own MotoGP development and learning despite being trackside as Aprilia’s test rider and also watching on television from home.
Andrea Iannone is confident of making a positive race debut for Aprilia but concedes there will be a lot to learn in Qatar following intensive winter testing.
Aprilia are 'super happy' with the work of new test rider Bradley Smith and plan five MotoGP wild-card race appearances for the Englishman during the 2019 season.
The full exclusive interview with Sepang CEO Razlan Razali discussing the 2019 debut of the new Petronas Yamaha MotoGP team, plus the revised Moto2 and Moto3 line-up and MotoE entry with Bradley Smith… Crash.net:
Following last month’s announcement that former Ferrari F1 team chief Massimo Rivola has been appointed Aprilia Racing CEO, the Italian has drilled in efficiency and team harmony being vital to its 2019 charge.
After a stunning first year in MotoGP, KTM was forced into a reality check in 2018, as it didn’t quite match the lofty expectations it set itself back in March. Injuries had a good deal to with it, and with this in mind, one of the year’s more intriguing signings took place.
Bradley Smith had avoided any preconceived ideas of the Aprilia RS-GP, but after four days of MotoGP testing the Englishman "felt what he had seen" when watching the bike on track this season: "But also we know how to make it better, so that's exciting."
Both Red Bull KTM riders Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro see Phillip Island as their best shot ar a strong result to end 2018 given the team’s impressive pace both in last year’s race and in previous tests.
Bradley Smith says the extremely competitive level in MotoGP came out with his last-lap battle against Scott Redding to secure the final point place in 15 th at the first-ever Thailand round as he seeks answers behind pace problems in the first Asia flyaway race.
KTM is yet to beat the best race result of its rookie MotoGP season, but the factory insists it is 'not panicking' and will eventually reach its victory goal, no matter how long it takes.
Bradley Smith is confident he can make a seamless transition from the current KTM to the updated version but warns the Austrian squad ‘can’t take any unnecessary risks’ in its development plan.
KTM initially thought its MotoGP test programme would be less important in 2019, when the factory will double its presence on the grid to four bikes with the addition of Tech3.
Bradley Smith's early summer announcement that he was contemplating retirement sent tongues wagging, but also set his mind in motion. Is this really what I want?
Bradley Smith matched KTM's best result of the season, and his best result of last year on the RC16, with tenth place in Sunday's German MotoGP. The Englishman almost doubled his season points as he finished a safe distance between Tech3 Yamaha riders Johann Zarco and Hafizh Syahrin.