‘Redding and Smith have had their chance’
MCN’s man fears for the grand prix future of homegrown UK racers
It’s a massive shame we’ll only have Cal in the premier class next year. It’s a pity to see Scott Redding and Bradley Smith go, but they’re obviously not fitting-in. Smith seems to be getting there with KTM but it’s too late isn’t it? Maybe it’s time for a change of direction for Scott. He could be ready for World Superbikes or going back to Moto2. He’s been in MotoGP for so long now and he’s not delivering and when you’re in that place it’s a really s**t place to be in. He can’t be happy. He’ll be wanting to do better for himself.
We seem to be in a bit of a rut with young British talent at the moment. It was looking good at the start of the year with young Bradley Ray but the wheels seem to have fallen off. He had a good run at the Suzuka 8-Hour, but you need to be consistently impressing at his age if you’re going to make it anywhere near Grand Prix.
The biggest problem I feel with Brits moving up through the pack is they never get enough of a chance. Redding and Smith have had some good chances in MotoGP but if you look at the guys rising up, like Sam Lowes, a few bad races at the start of the year and he never gets given the chance to recover. You look at Grand Prix and there are so many seasoned campaigners about; how do you pull someone like Bradley Ray or Jake Dixon and put them in there? They haven’t got a chance. Look at Tarran Mackenzie, he was thrown in at the deep end on a Moto2 bike and it was disastrous. Danny Kent is another one who can’t get any momentum going. He was Moto3 World Champion but now he’s struggling his arse off. His teammate Quartararo is up there and which one of them has just landed a MotoGP ride?
‘BRITS MOVING UP NEVER GET ENOUGH OF A CHANCE’