Size matters for Redding
Brit worried by ‘little and large’ team
Having rushed back from California to the aborted Jerez test, Scott Redding was wondering where he will live for the next three months. The Ducati rider is avoiding his native UK due to Covid restrictions and poor weather, while a return to America would bring travel issues. By Friday, he had sorted temporary accommodation in Spain where he will train with friends. Last year, Ducati’s tall line-up featured Redding and Chaz Davies. For 2021, racing alongside Michael Ruben Rinaldi, Redding is concerned about differences in size which result in radically different bike setups.
“I like Michael in the same way I like Chaz, they’re both really good guys,” Redding told MCN. “My biggest issue is the height and weight thing. The best way to develop a bike is: two similar riders equal same development direction. Michael uses some mad setups because of how he sits on the bike. Now, like with Bautista in 2019, I will want one setup and Michael will want another. Ducati will need to decide who to follow and that complicates things. Personally, I believe a bike built for a bigger rider will work for a smaller rider, but not the other way around.” Redding believes a minimum rider/bike combined weight should be introduced in WSB and MotoGP, as in Supersport 300, to prevent lighter riders from having an ‘unfair advantage’ on softer tyres. Former teammate Davies starts life in the GoEleven team and also has a new crew chief: Pete Jennings, who has worked with Tom Sykes, Eugene Laverty and Alex Lowes.
‘ Michael uses some mad like setups’
Barni Racing are hurriedly trying to organise a test in Italy for Tito Rabat and while none of the top WSB men ventured out in the wet conditions, there was some track action. MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl tested the new Honda, while Johann Zarco and Michele Pirro rode stock V4 Ducatis.