Redding sets the pace on final day at Jerez

The final day of the 2015 MotoGP saw Scott Redding set the pace at Jerez with the Pramac rider feeling confident on the Ducati.

“Today was good,” said Redding. “We improved the lap time by quite a big step. I feel quite good with the bike. With the tyres I’m getting a better feeling. We tried a few things with weight position, which helped. Some of it didn’t. In the end we found a good combination. I changed a bit my riding style to suit the set-up. 

“In general it was a good two days of testing. We didn’t do loads of laps but there were a lot of strong laps. We were getting good information while trying the new tyres. To go away with good confidence, unlike last year, gives me a good boost ahead of Christmas before preparing for next season. I look forward to going to Malaysia and seeing how it looks in hotter conditions.”

Redding was two tenths faster than Marc Marquez but with the Spaniard having two crashes today his was a much more eventful close to testing. A high speed, highside at Turn 3 left hander and a second at the first corner.

“Today I had two crashes,” said Marquez. “One was a big highside in Turn 3. I went into the corner with some gas. This [crash] never happens in MotoGP but maybe we have to understand the new electronics better. I was using a consistent throttle but in one moment I lose really aggressive the rear wheel, and then I fly! But lucky I was well. The second one was we did the comparison with both engines and everything, and Honda asked for us to be on the limit to try to compare but on the limit at the braking with the Michelin is dangerous.”

Friday saw the factory Ducati riders of Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso also test for the first time and while Iannone had  a crash both riders were pleased with the efforts and the development of the Ducati electronics.

Iannone spent his time focussing on chassis settings as Ducati continue to adapt to the Michelin tyres and the geometry changes that are required.

Unofficial times (MotoGP) 
1. Scott Redding Ducati 1m38.9s
2. Marc Marquez Honda 1m39.1s
3. Danilo Petrucci Ducati 1m39.3s
4. Andrea Iannone Ducati 1m39.6s
5. Andrea Dovizioso Ducati 1m39.7s
6. Dani Pedrosa Honda 1m39.9s
7. Hector Barbera Ducati 1m39.9s
8. Loris Baz Ducati 1m40.2s
9. Yonny Hernandez Ducati 1m40.4s