Smith impresses on Aspar debut
Added on Tuesday, November 25th, 2008 by Carole Nash Editor
Smith impresses on Aspar debut
Bradley Smith’s career with Aspar Aprilia began in Valencia today with both he and new teammate Julian Simon posting the fastest 125cc times of the day.
The 18-year-old Brit, who claimed four podium finishes in the 125cc championship last year with the Polaris World Aprilia team, will go into 2009 as a genuine title contender after joining the factory-backed Aspar team and has already shown promise in the opening testing session.
Smith made an instant impression for his new team, setting the fastest time of the day at 1:41.7, marginally ahead of the time set by teammate Julian Simon.
Smith, who joined Aspar following Gabor Talmacsi’s graduation to 250cc competition, joins a team which has a strong pedigree at this level, having helped Talmacsi to both the 2007 and 2008 titles.
The fastest rider overall in the combined support class session was Alvaro Bautista, onboard the factory Aprilia RSA of the Aspar team. The Spaniard clocked a time of 1:37.1 on his home circuit, further preparing for another assault on the quarter-litre title in 2009.
Debut 250cc appearances came from Gabor Talmacsi and Mike di Meglio, the two most recent 125cc World Champions although they couldn’t get within a second down on Bautista´s time in their first ride with their new machinery.
