Britain’s Scott Redding has blasted MotoGP youngster Jack Miller after the Argentine MotoGP round, saying the MarcVDS man should have spent more time trying to catch the group ahead in Sunday’s race instead of passing and re-passing Redding’s Octo Ducati.
The Gloucestershire rider got caught up with Miller as he tried to make progress but feels that the Australian held them both up until he crashed out after handful of laps. After the mandatory stops Redding was lying in a solid sixth until an apparent disconnect with the throttle forced him out of proceedings on lap 16. “It didn’t cut out,” he said on Sunday evening. “When I opened the throttle it was like it was disconnected.
“I tried to rev but it wouldn’t go. It was just strange, like gas trying to come. I put the bike in neutral and it revved. I put it back in gear and cut out again. I don’t really know what the problem was.”
A day on from an incident with his rear Michelin tyre, that ultimately altered the course of the MotoGP weekend, Redding found himself stranded in 14th at the close of lap three as a feisty exchange with a typically exuberant Jack Miller and a mistake at turn one left him struggling for position.
Redding on it, while he still had power
Yet he quickly gathered his composure to make short work of the upper reaches of the top ten. A speedy bike change gained him two places at mid-race and from there he gained and passed Dani Pedrosa with the minimum of fuss.
“I’m disappointed because we made a good race considering the problem we had,” said Redding. “We made good of a bad weekend but it just wasn’t enough. Something had to come and get us again which was quite annoying. The start was OK. Fucking Jack (Miller) fighting with you for no reason. That’s why we lost the first guys originally. Then I went into turn one deep and got caught up with that crash with (Cal) Crutchlow and (Aleix) Espargaro and I was 17th or 18th.
“I managed to catch the group again. I made a great change. I think it was the second or third fastest in the pits. I was fast right out of the box. Pedrosa passed me but I think he only pulled three tenths on me on my out lap so it was really good in that area. I knew I was going to be faster, passed him and tried to make a gap. I was riding about 80 percent because there was too much of a gap in front to really do anything.
“I went into turn one and there was nada. I tried to reboot the engine three times; off, on, off, on. I had to come to an end. There was an opportunity to take some good points. We were sixth at the time. It was just one of those weekends.
The Englishman saved a few choice words for Miller, who was enjoying an inspired ride toward the leading group before a fall at turn three. Looking ahead, Redding acknowledged that qualifying further up the field is a priority, to ensure he doesn’t find himself in those situations again.
“He can put the bike where he wants but we’re going to lose time on other guys. You go into T1, there’s no line there and he’s just driving into the side of you. I’m like, ‘Dude, come on!’ Then you brake into turn two and he’s trying to go round the outside. Into three and he’s there and he goes on the inside and you pass him back on the straight. Then he tries to come back up the inside of you at seven and by that point the leading guys have put eight tenths on you. I knew he wasn’t going to finish the race. He was riding like a fucking out of control lunatic and then he crashes again.
“I can help myself by not qualifying there. I just need to do it. I think when I qualify in the first three rows I’ll be able to hold on to that front group easily. It’s getting there is a bit frustrating because you try to recover, brake harder, make a mistake and recover again. It’s just endless.”
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