Scott Redding confident after rain-hit Catalunya test

Scott Redding was satisfied with his progress at the conclusion of a weather-hit three-day Moto2 test at the Catalunya circuit near Barcelona today.

Overnight rain meant that testing didn’t get underway today until after lunch, when a dry line finally started to appear around the 2.937 mile Montmelo circuit.

Redding continued to refine the set-up of his Suter MMX machines, a process he had started to make real progress with during much better conditions yesterday.

The opening day of the test was almost a complete washout with Gloucestershire rider Redding restricted to only 11 laps on his Marc VDS Racing machine.

He managed his first serious assessment of the Suter MMX yesterday and clocked the 15th best time of 1.51.2.

The chatter that appeared yesterday continued to cause problems for Redding this afternoon.

Changes to the suspension settings on his bike did lead to a reduction in the chatter, but also to a corresponding reduction in rear grip.

Despite this, and the less than ideal track conditions, Redding ended with his fastest time, posting a 1.51.1s lap shortly before rain brought the test to an end.

Redding, who in 2008 became the youngest rider in history to win a Grand Prix, said: “We could have done with more track time over the three days, but the weather put paid to that!

“Even so, we’ve made some big steps forward in the limited track time we’ve had; I wasn’t comfortable on the bike the first day, but it definitely feels like my bike now.

“We had some issues with chatter yesterday and today, but I’m not too worried about this.

“We had started the process of dialling it out, but we simply ran out of time. I’m confident that we’ll be on top of this pretty quickly at the next test in Valencia.

“Overall I’m really pleased with how things have gone this week. The team works well together and I get on with everyone, which is always a good thing for a rider.

“Now I’m looking forward to getting back on the bike at Valencia and pushing for some fast lap times.”