Qatar MotoGP: Scott Redding ecstatic with second

Scott Redding could barely contain his delight after the British rider stormed to second place in the opening Moto2 practice session in Qatar. 

The 17-year-old produced a stunning performance on the Marc VDS Racing machine to come tantalisingly close to topping the timesheets as a new era in Grand Prix racing kicked off. 

Last night was the first action for the new 600cc four-stroke class and it could not have started much better for Redding, who is the youngest rider in history to win a Grand Prix.

He led the timesheets until the final three minutes when Alex de Angelis bettered his lap of 2.03.834 by 0.595s.

Redding, who has enjoyed a dramatic transformation on the Suter MMX chassis having struggled to make an impact in early testing, said: “I’m pretty happy with that! The bike felt good from the start and I was able to stay with the faster riders from the beginning of the session. We made a few changes to the bike, which worked well, but then we tried a different tyre and the back end started coming round on me.

“So, we switched back to the tyre that worked so well at the start of the session and that’s when I set my fastest lap. The team have done a great job here and I’m confident that, together, we will continue to improve. It was a good way to start off in Moto2 and I’m looking forward to getting back on track for practice and qualifying tomorrow night.”