Smith surprised Bradl escaped punishment

Bradley Smith has expressed his surprise that HRC wild-card Stefan Bradl escaped punishment for the first lap pile-up in Sunday's Czech Republic MotoGP race.

Bradl, Smith and Maverick Vinales were all sent tumbling in the Turn 3 incident. The start of the accident wasn’t caught on camera, but Smith and other riders said they were in no doubt about who was to blame.

"Yeah, 100%. There’s no question about it," Smith said at Monday's test, when asked if he was sure Bradl was at fault. "So Stefan lunged, tried to overtake four people and then tucked the front, and skittled me and Maverick.

"I obviously saw him go down, he slid into me and unfortunately both of our bikes hit Maverick just on the rear swingarm. Down he went.

"I can understand why Maverick was shouting at me in the gravel. He only saw an orange bike. I was like, ‘That was not me!’

"I was a little bit baffled by Stefan’s comments yesterday that he didn’t realise what had happened. I was looking for a video or picture to refresh his memory…"

The absence of video or photo proof about the accident was perhaps the reason why the FIM Stewards decided not to issue any punishment. A decision that left "very surprised".

The KTM rider added: "With me, that’s the second time in two weekends that Stefan has caused something. In Sachsenring he slowed me down in Q1. He didn’t look behind on an out-lap. He slowed me down in the last sector. That should have been his warning. I believe it was his warning. Then he’s wiped two guys out.

"If you listen to Miller’s comments it was clear it was a reckless move. I’m really surprised with Race Direction’s decision there, as I’m sure you saw on my Twitter last night."

Smith was the only rider involved in the accident to test on Monday, with both Bradl and Vinales unfit to ride. "We hope Maverick no longer feels sore from yesterday's crash when we start riding again in Austria on the Friday," said Yamaha team director Massimo Meregalli.