Qatar MotoGP: Scott Redding dismayed at poor Moto2 debut

Scott Redding endured a nightmare debut in the historic first Moto2 race in Qatar last night.

The British prospect could only ride his Marc VDS Racing Suter MMX machine to a bitterly disappointing 23rd place, just two days after the jubilation of a second place in Friday’s free practice.

Redding was never in contention for a points-scoring finish in a race that saw him suffer chronic chatter again on the Swiss-built Suter chassis.

Starting from the fifth row of the grid, Redding was pushed out wide into turn as the 41 riders jostled for position.

The 17-year-old clawed back some places on the run down to turn two, but then suffered the same fate as the field battled for the fastest line through the left-hander.

A missed gear at the hairpin also proved a costly mistake for the youngest rider in the race, as it forced him off track and through the gravel trap.

The Gloucestershire rider said: “I’m bitterly disappointed. The race was a catalogue of disasters, starting at the first turn.

“I got beaten up by at least four riders in the braking area and pushed wide then the same thing happened in turn two.

“Rear grip was also an issue; the back end was all over the place, but the biggest problem came when I went down one gear too many for the hairpin and ran off the track into the gravel.

“It took a couple of laps to clean off the tyres before I was able to match my lap times from Friday.

“With 41 riders all looking for space in turn one, qualifying high up the grid is going to be critical, as I found out today.”