Go&Fun Honda’s Scott Redding managed to out-qualify Nicky Hayden in today’s final time MotoGP session at Austin but says the one-lap attack doesn’t matter, it’s what he can do over a race distance that is important.
The Gloucestershire rider believes that whatever he does in qualifying, the other production Hondas will be around him on the grid, so it is better to have pace over 20 laps and try to get away than to be quick over a one-lap stint.
“I wanted to work here on the one lap so that wasn’t too bad and I was using the hard tyre a lot more for the practices because I think we need to work with that more to try and close that gap to the group that was in front of us in Qatar. We did a lot of work with it and the soft one feels a lot better when I put it in,” said Redding, speaking at Austin.
“I know the bike now I feel comfortable but it is little things, like on the one lap I learned more about braking, you feel like you’re on the limit but there is some more but that’s right on the edge. I need to learn the tyre and push through what you think the limit is.
“But the one-lap mean nothing as Nicky is only half a second slower and he is right next to me, the Hondas will on the same couple of rows. I am working for the race to get the points and feel good with the hard tyre.
“No news yet on a bigger fuel tank, they will do what they will do. We need to concentrate on improving our laptime and it will come. The power and the fuel tank will come, it will just take a bit of time.”
