Qatar MotoGP: Bradley Smith quickest in warm-up test

British teenager Bradley Smith posted the fastest time on the opening night of 125GP testing in Qatar as part of a warm-up for the first race of 2009 this weekend.

Smith, who claimed pole position at last year’s Qatar clash, a set a best time of 2.06.568 to finish 0.2s clear of fellow Aprilia rider Andrea Iannone.

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And for once it was Smith who was humbling Aspar Aprilia team-mate Julian Simon.

The Spaniard has dominated winter testing so far but he could only finish third fastest last night with a best time of 2.07.042.

That left him 0.5s slower than Smith, who is one of the pre-season favourites for the 125GP title.

British GP winner Scott Redding had a tough opening night as he could only clock a best time of 2.08.986 on his Blusens Aprilia.

That left him down in 11th place on the circuit where he created history as the youngest rider in history to claim a front row start.

New Haojue rider Matt Hoyle was 23rd fastest but he was a massive 11 seconds off the front-running pace of Oxfordshire rider Smith. Hoyle clocked a best of 2.17.277.