Tough to turn down MotoGP return, admits Redding's crew chief

Scott Redding’s long-serving crew chief Pete Benson has admitted turning down the chance to return to MotoGP with the rising British star in 2014 was one of the hardest decisions of his career.

Redding will join the Italian-based Gresini Honda squad next season and he will campaign one of the new Honda RCV1000R production bikes.

The 20-year-old had wanted Kiwi crew chief Benson, who has previously worked with Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden in MotoGP, to move with him.

The pair have formed a close relationship having worked together since 2010 in the Marc VDS Racing Moto2 squad.

But Benson is staying with Marc VDS to work with Esteve Rabat and he told MCN: “It was a really tough one because I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Scott and I would love to keep working with him. But I had a pretty tough couple of years at Honda.

“I’d love to go back to MotoGP as well but it has to be a situation that I am happy with. I would like to do this for another ten years and I would love to keep doing it with Scott but I don’t feel that going to Gresini would be a great thing.

“I don’t speak Italian and I always feel that when a rider goes into a new team you either take the whole team or you take nobody. For me to go there it would probably be more disruptive than helpful and I really struggled to see it as a progressive thing.

“It is unfortunate for Scott but I didn’t feel I could do him justice. It still feels hard even though the decision has been made. Everyday I go home wondering if not going was the right thing to do but at this point it is.

“But from the point of view of not being able to continue that relationship it is a real shame.”

For a large part of the early stage of the season it looked like Redding’s Belgian-based squad Marc VDS squad could move to MotoGP with him in 2014.

That would have been the perfect scenario, according to Benson and he added: “The dream scenario was to move up with Scott with Marc VDS. I got very excited about that but then you accept that’s the way it has gone.

“For me that would have been perfect and I think Scott and everybody here was looking forward to it happening and it didn’t. It certainly wasn’t through a lack of trying from the team.”