Gosselies, Belgium – 12 March 2015: Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS and Scott Redding head to Qatar this week for the final MotoGP preseason test of 2015, which gets underway on Saturday 14th March under the floodlights at the Losail International Circuit.

Redding made significant progress during the two earlier tests in Sepang, but is keen to take advantage of the consistent track conditions in Qatar, a track he likes and one at which he has gone well in both junior classes in the past, to unlock more of the secrets to a fast lap aboard the factory Honda RC213V.

The 22-year-old Briton is confident that he can further close the gap to the front runners during the final preseason test in Qatar, before returning to the Losail International Circuit for the first race of the 2015 season, which takes place on the last weekend in March.

Scott Redding:
“The track conditions were a limiting factor in Sepang, because they changed as the temperature rose throughout the day. It meant that it was difficult to judge progress from the lap time, because the track conditions were actually the biggest variable, not the set up or my riding style. In Qatar the situation will be different, with fairly consistent track conditions across the day – or night, as we’ll be testing under floodlights – so the lap time will show clearly whether changes to set up or my riding style have had a positive or negative effect. Qatar is a very different track to Sepang, so we know we’ll have to make some changes to the set up, which gives Chris Pike, my Chief Mechanic, the chance to learn a bit more about the bike. From my side I still need to work a bit on my riding style if I’m going to get the most from the bike. I’m looking forward to the test and I’m not too concerned about lap times, as I’m confident that they will come.”

Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal
“Scott still needs time on the factory Honda RC213V to get a better feel for the bike, but he also needs consistent track conditions to properly assess whether changes bring an improvement or not. This was missing in Sepang, where the window for a fast lap was very narrow and the track changed significantly as the temperature went up. Qatar will be much better as the track conditions won’t change so much over the course of each day. Equally as important, Scott won’t have to ride in the gruelling heat and humidity that is such a feature of the Sepang tests while also trying to understand better the bike. I’m confident that at this test we’ll see him close the gap to his more experienced factory rivals, with the goal being to close to within a second of the fastest time.”