Scott Redding eyes Jerez boost

After a bitterly disappointing Moto2 debut in Qatar earlier this month, British rider Scott Redding is hoping to kickstart his 2010 campaign when the world championship begins its crucial European phase in Jerez this weekend.

The Gloucestershire rider failed to capitalize on a brilliant first practice performance in Qatar’s season opener and he ended the first race in a frustrating 23rd position.

But the 17-year-old is confident of a swift recovery having enjoyed a stunning pre-season test performance at the Jerez circuit in Spain last month.

Redding ended the winter campaign with the fourth quickest time on board the Marc VDS Racing Suter MMX machine.

And boosted by a recent two-day test in Mugello prior to the postponement of last weekend’s scheduled running of the Japanese GP, Redding said: “After the disappointment of Qatar I’m looking forward to getting to Jerez, especially after the successful test we had there back in March.

“We know it’s possible to get the bike working well around Jerez, as long as the track conditions aren’t too different to those we had during the test.

“I would say I’m fairly confident going into the second race of the season. A top ten finish is a realistic goal, but we should really be able to get into the top five if everything goes according to plan.

“However, as we saw in Qatar, things don’t always go according to plan.

“Hopefully we’ll have better luck in Jerez and we’ll get the chance to show our true potential in the race.”

Marc VDS Racing team boss Michael Bartholemy said he is confident Redding will be much higher up the field in Jerez this weekend.

The former factory Kawasaki boss said: “We head for Jerez determined to improve greatly on our results in Qatar.

“Scott was fourth fastest overall during the final pre-season test in Jerez, so we fully expect him to be running at the front of the field from the start of the weekend.

“We don’t have to tell Scott what’s expected of him – he puts more pressure on himself to succeed than we ever could – but he also needs to enjoy riding the bike, as that’s where the speed comes from and that’s what was missing from Saturday onwards in Qatar.”