Gosselies, Belgium – 8 April 2015: Scott Redding endured a difficult debut in Qatar aboard the Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Honda RC213V, taking the chequered flag in 13th position in a race in which, prior to the start of the weekend, his goal was to fight for a top six finish.

This goal was hastily revised following the first free practice session in Qatar, where Redding was struggling with a lack of both rear grip and the all-important feedback from the front tyre. The team were able to improve Redding’s feeling with the front over the course of the weekend, but it wasn’t a big enough step forward to allow the 22-year-old Briton to realise the full potential of the factory Honda RC213V in the race.

“After a successful test in Qatar the week before, we went into the opening race of the season quietly confident, but we were forced to change our expectations almost immediately, after running into issues with rear grip and feedback from the front in the very first practice session,” explained Redding.

“Over the course of the weekend we made a lot of changes to the bike, some quite significant in terms of set up, but the feeling on track remained the same and it was difficult for me to notice the differences, never mind any improvement.”

“We made more big changes for the race, basically because we had no option, so it took me a couple of laps to get the feeling back with the bike. When Marc Marquez came past me I tried to hold on to him as long as possible, but I was struggling to get the bike stopped and then turned in the corner.”

“I am physically bigger than the other Honda riders, so we need to find our own way with the set up of the bike. Maybe the track conditions in Qatar played a part, I don’t know, but we weren’t where we expected to be in the opening race and there is obviously a lot of room for improvement.” 

“The positive thing is that the changes we made for the Qatar race were definitely an improvement, so we now have a base to work from in Texas. We need to see how well the Circuit of the Americas suits this bike and my riding style but, hopefully, what we learned in Qatar will see me back on the pace, rebuilding my confidence in the bike and closing the gap to the front guys this weekend.”

Free practice for the Grand Prix of the Americas gets underway for the MotoGP class at 09.55 local time on Friday 10th April.