Redding ‘rediscovers feeling’ to give Aprilia first points of 2018

Scott Redding scored Aprilia’s first points in MotoGP since the Japanese Grand Prix last year, with a fine ride from 15th to 12th. The Brit pushed on and clambered his way through the point-scoring positions, whilst also being assisted by the Rossi and Marquez collision, which led to Rossi finishing 19th and Marquez being penalised to 18th.

It was also Scott’s first points since Sepang last year and his first top-12 finish since Phillip Island last year. Redding also said that he had ‘rediscovered the feeling’ of the Aprilia, something that he was lacking in Qatar.

“It was a very long race. After lining up on the grid, there were some rather confusing moments. Fortunately, the delayed start gave everyone a chance to gain a better understanding of the situation,” said the Brit.

“Today it was basically about interpreting the track conditions straight away and I must say that things worked quite well. I lost ground on the longest straight, whereas on the rest of the track I managed to stay close to my rivals.

“I am happy with the final result, both because I rediscovered the feeling after Qatar and for the guys on the team who really had to work under pressure today. Riding along with the other riders for the entire race distance also gave me a chance to better understand where the RS-GP and I need to improve and that will help us in the upcoming races.”

Redding will now move on to the Circuit of the Americas for round three of the championship. The 25-year-old was 12th at the circuit last season but has a best result of 6th, from 2016. He was 5th in a Moto2 race there, back in 2013. Aprilia’s last point-scoring ride at Austin was with Stefan Bradl and Alvaro Bautista in 2016, when both finished 10th and 11th respectively.