At one stage this weekend Scott Redding was not looking like a WorldSBK race winner – certainly not like the rider who scored both long race wins in Jerez with such aplomb - Jonathan Rea on the other hand had set a new track best lap in Superpole this morning.
Redding himself did not feel much like a potential race winner until some changes - back to what was more familiar at Aragon – on his V4R Ducati and had been truly concerned about his race one prospects, as he described.
“I did not feel good, I was a bit worried. This morning I wanted to smash everything up because I was P11 and I am risking everything. I said that I didn’t understand. I was really riding and pushing but nothing coming.”
Foremost of all there was the human element as to why this opening race win at Motorland came about for Reding. Especially against pole man Rea who had looked good until making a small mistake in the latter stages of the race itself.
“I dunno, I think it was just heart,” Redding said of his win. “I really didn’t feel great the whole weekend. I struggled. This morning I felt a little bit better but we also had the (softer) SCX tyre on, so I was thinking, was it the tyre or was it the bike? But the bike felt the best it has felt so I said just leave it, let me try and race like that.
The warm-up lap I had some big slides and I thought, ‘Fuck me this is going to be a hard one.’ But I cleared my mind on the grid, got in my zone and thought ‘you can beat him’ and I just stuck my head down and got consistent.”
Having both Kawasaki riders – Rea and Alex Lowes before his crash - in front of him was useful for Redding to make a plan on the hoof during the race. And as far as one key element was concerned, he needed some time to learn the subtleties. “I got behind them and saw where they were better, where I was better. We changed the gear ratio from yesterday. We went shorter because here you can do a 1-5 or a 2-6 gearbox.
There are quite a few things with mad gear ratios but it is what we ran here at the test, then we changed, then we went back; it is just mixing up what fits what bike best. I think some other bikes are running different gears within their team.
"It is whatever suits a rider better. So I was still kind of learning what gears and I was trying them in the race and thinking, ‘this is a bit of a risk.’ But I was in a calm state… I was still with those guys and not riding over your limit. You feel comfortable and that is when I know I can do some good results. So I stayed there.”
Rea tried to up the pace at one stage, but Redding had him covered. “Johnny pushed one lap and couldn’t break me, and then he slowed up a little. I though ‘now is your time, go. Go!’ I thought on one hand I would be able to make a gap on him, on the other hand I thought I was not going to be able to get away and I was like 0,0.2.01, 0.2 and I was almost getting away. I had to try some stuff in the infield and it was slowing me up a little bit. I was also struggling with the front tyre. But I was happy with him behind me.”
Rea had a small go at Redding shortly before he was to run wide and lose his chance of attacking the Ducati rider. “He did sneak a front wheel up with a few laps to go and I said to myself I was not giving up that easy, so it was good to finish on top and I have got a lot of confidence. The Aruba Ducati team did an amazing job to just keep digging in and not giving up.
"That is the biggest thing I can take from me and my team. It has been tough and we did not give up until the end. I always say it is not over until the finish flag is out. That is what we did today. It wasn’t easy for me, it wasn’t easy for the team but it is the races like this that build a great package within the pit box.”
