MotoGP: Redding happy with steady start to the season

Scott Redding has come away from the opening round of the 2017 MotoGP world championship pleased with a steady start on the Pramac Ducati, taking seventh at the flag to match his own expectations for the season and get some valuable points on the board.

Struggling throughout preseason testing until a breakthrough at the Losail circuit during the final outing of the year two weeks ago, he says that seventh is the ballpark they were aiming for, and that it’s a result to build on as the season continues.

“I’m really happy. I had a good race especially after the difficulties of the warm up. I got off a good start but I had to close the throttle due to Zarco’s dangerous move which cost me a lot. In the second part of the race I was lapping well even though I was not able to take the First Independent award. I would have been happy to make the top ten so this is a good result and I want thank the team for the work done and for always believing in me.”

However, things were less happy on the other side of the garage, with yet another technical problem for the Italian squad leaving a dejected Danilo Petrucci out of the running despite what looked like a strong start to the year for him too.

“I am very sorry for how things went. To be honest in the second warm up lap I felt something strange with the bike. During the race I could not manage to take full advantage of the power of the bike, especially on the straight. However, I managed to improve my pace in the final part of the race. Then five laps from the end the bike stopped. It’s a shame but it’s only the first race and I’m looking forward to being in Argentina.”