Points for Redding in incident packed Malaysian encounter
Sepang, Malaysia – 25 October 2015: Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider, Scott Redding, secured his eighth successive points scoring finish with 11th place in the heat and humidity of Malaysia.
With both air and track temperatures rising considerably ahead of the 20-Lap MotoGP race, Redding struggled with a lack of front grip from the start. As the 22-year-old Briton pushed to stay in contact with the group ahead of him the problem worsened, with Redding unable to get the bike stopped in the slower corners, as the front started to slide.
After a number of close calls with the front closing on him in the corners, Redding opted to ease off, preferring to finish and pick up more points rather than falling foul of the greasy track conditions and bringing his race to a premature end in the gravel.
Scott Redding: 11th
“It was a hard race because I was struggling with front grip from the start. I was trying to push to stay on the back of the group ahead of me, but I kept closing the front and if the rear had grip it was pushing the front as well. I was also struggling to stop the bike in the slower corners because the front was sliding and I lost contact. That made it harder because I was alone for most of the race. But, the fact that we finished is a big positive. I used to struggle here in Sepang, but to have no real problems with the heat and humidity today is good for my confidence. A tough race and one in which I was happy to see the chequered flag.”
Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal
“Our goal was to finish in the top ten, like always, but we missed out once again by just one place today. It’s not what we wanted, but we know that this is one of Scott’s least favourite tracks, so we can be relatively satisfied with the result given the problems he encountered in the race, while hoping for better next time in the final race of the season, and Scott’s last race for the team, in Valencia.”