SCOTT REDDING

Started 6th Finished 7th Redding came away form the opening weekend of 2017 with a better result than he had anticipated, as the Pramac Ducati rider managed to secure an impressive seventh place, finishing as the first satellite bike and second Ducati only to the factory machine of Andrea Dovizioso. Building on his big breakthrough in front-end feeling and capitalising on a good grid position he admitted afterwards that the performance exceeded his own expectations. He said: “We knew we had okay pace, but it was hard to judge it throughout the weekend thanks to the conditions. But I got my head down and was able to go. I couldn’t get the bike to turn or get much grip form the rear tyre, so I just had to be consistent. It was a tough race, but I’m happy to be under 10 seconds from the leader – that’s the closest I’ve been in a really long time and the real positive for me from the weekend.”