The weather has been up and down all weekend, Scott Redding (Octo Pramac Yakhnich) working hard to be strong regardless of the conditions. Free Practice 3 offered the MotoGP™ riders one last chance to taste a dry TT Circuit Assen, Redding ended sixth and only 0.382s back on the factory Ducati of Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team). Free Practice 4 was slow to start as the rain softly fell, riders waiting for the track to become sufficiently wet before heading out. Unlike FP3, this session didn’t go to plan for Redding who fell at Turn 8.
Redding was unharmed and able to head out for Q2, the drying track levelling the playing field and allowing the rider to make the difference. And make the difference is exactly what Redding did, a 1’46.312 taking him to his first front row in the MotoGP™ World Championship. From third on the grid Redding is in prime position to battle certainly for top Independent Team honours, if not the podium itself.
Scott Redding: “I am very satisfied with this result. We’ve had very bad luck so far in the season but we did well to never give up. The sensations were good during the weekend in dry conditions. Today we did the maximum, thanks to my team's strategy. Also I am very happy for this: the guys are working hard for me every day and this is a small satisfaction that I am happy to have given them. I really hope to repeat this result tomorrow.”