It’s initiation day for Harley-Davidson x Dynojet Factory Racing’s Bradley Smith at Daytona International Speedway with the well-traveled Brit not only taking his first laps of the Speedway and its daunting 31-degree banking, but also turning wheels in anger for the first time on his Mission King Of The Baggers Harley-Davidson Road Glide.
Smith, who has competed in MotoGP, Moto2, MotoE, 125cc GP (now Moto3), as well as World Supersport and the World Superbike Championship, is making his MotoAmerica debut this week and we caught up with him just minutes after he completed his first laps of Daytona International Speedway.
“They definitely threw me in at the deep end and I can’t even begin to explain how crazy but exciting at the same time it is to do the banking,” Smith said. “I can’t get my head around it. I didn’t even have the confidence to stay fully behind the bubble. It’s just an amazing place. Difficult to figure out. Hopefully, the track rubbers in a little more and I get a little bit more of a feel. We had a few technical issues this morning, but I just tried to stay out on track and learn it as much as possible. Thirty minutes is not enough, but it is what we’ve got and I’m looking forward to qualifying this afternoon.”
Smith ended his first session 12th fastest, 5.7 seconds off Tyler O’Hara’s best lap. The Mission King Of The Baggers 30-minute qualifying session is this afternoon at 2:10 p.m. (Eastern)
