Welcome to the beta version of the new Women & Golf website. Our web monkeys are still hard at work and welcome your feedback.  

Advertisement

MotoGP Qatar: Fuel strategy slows Redding in early laps

Scott Redding’s Octo Ducati squad opted for a conservative fuel strategy in yesterday’s opening MotoGP round at Losail which meant he didn’t have access to the full power of the GP15 engine until halfway through the race.

Redding’s height, weight and style are such that his team found he was using more fuel in free practice, from which concerns on whether he could complete the 22 laps at strong race pace arose. “The team were a little nervous about not finishing the race too, because they’ve seen my style,” said Redding.

“I think playing with electronics will help, and even trying to work myself to save a little more fuel, will give me an advantage. I didn’t expect that big a difference so now that it’s clear, I can work on it.”

Advertisement

At one point in the weekend, Redding had sat as high as third overall, suggesting a push for the top satellite placing was the least of his expectations. “I kind of expected more,” he conceded before adding, “But with the combination of the feeling we had, the crashes, the qualifying – it was hard to get the full potential. When you take that into account, you have to take it on the chin.”

Starting from twelfth on the third row, the Englishman’s hopes of gaining ground were halted as he was pushed wide by Pol Espargaro at turn one. From there, finding a rhythm was difficult and he found Ducati’s top speed advantage was lacking due to the mapping changes.

“I got a good start, but then ran into turn one, got ran wide by someone, and lost the group already. We were using a lot of fuel during practice, so we reduced the power for the race – and that cost me. I didn’t use that much fuel, but I was struggling to hold onto the guys. We should have used more and been able to hold onto them – but we learned something from it.

“It could have been worse. I could have crashed again and left with no points, I could have finished further back, but instead I got my head down, played with the maps, and got a lot of info for the future.”

Articles you may like

Advertisement

More MotoGP

Advertisement
linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram