Redding feeling good on the Ducati

Scott Redding had another positive day on the Pramac Ducati with the Englishman continuing to adapt to the Italian machine. Redding immediately felt more comfortable on the bike in Jerez compared to his first experience on the bike two weeks ago in Valencia. With the previous test having been immediately after the Valencia race Redding felt that it was inevitable that he would find it difficult to feel natural on the Ducati from the off.

Today however he felt much more comfortable:

“The feeling was good with the bike,” said Redding. “When you compare it to Valencia it’s much better because I’m not going straight from a Honda to a Ducati. Actually having some time off to go onto that bike was quite good. Always at Valencia I felt, not uncomfortable but different. So I felt good straight out of the box, even in my first run I did a 1’40.8, so to have the feeling there already was quite good. We tried a few things with the bike, and it was a little bit better. We were trying more with the weight distribution, more rear, more front, a bit higher, and I just managed to gain more traction during the day, but I just lost a little bit in braking stability. So we are trying to find a combination to get the best of both for tomorrow.”

As to be expected with the new electronics, Michelin tyres and a change of bikes not all was perfect for Redding and he was suffering from some problems with the bike under braking.

“I didn’t have too many problems with the front but the rear was lifting. I did get some front skidding, so now we don’t have the front skid but I have lifting. So I’m a bit more inconsistent to make a faster lap time. The electronics have been good and even when the tyre drops, my lap time drops maybe two tenths, but even with ten or 15 laps on the tyre, I can still do a half-decent lap time.

“Last year I would struggle when the tyre dropped. I struggled with the electronics. So actually I feel better, and we haven’t even touched the electronics at all today, I was just riding the bike and working with feeling. And actually I feel we’ve got quite a good base with the electronics.”