After good free practice, including the best time during the second session, the Briton found himself, depending on the vagaries of the weather, in sixth position on the starting grid, alongside Johann Zarco and Andrea Dovizioso. But the warm-up was difficult, and the Pramac driver could only set the eighteenth time, more than a second behind Marc Marquez's best performance. However, he crossed the finish line of the Grand Prix a few hours later in a good seventh place.
Starting on the right of the grid, he was squeezed a little by Johann Zarco shortly after the start, which annoyed him at the time. “I was a little annoyed with Zarco at first. It was very dangerous, especially in MotoGP. It cost me a lot of places. I had made a very good start and had to cut the throttle. Other than that, I'm satisfied. Like I said, if I can be in the top ten, I'm really happy. I attacked throughout the race. It was at the limit. My lap times show that this was my limit. When Aleix Espargaro passed me, I couldn't do anything about it. I was hoping he would get tired but in this game, no one gets tired. »
Ninth at the end of the first lap, Redding moved up to sixth in eleventh, then was overtaken by Aleix Espargaro and his Aprilia.
“For me it was a good race. It was hard. In the morning, we had no pace with the medium tire. During the testing days we were good with the medium, but for some reason we really had problems.
“I was hoping everyone would stick with the medium because I didn't have an option to go with the soft. Finishing nine seconds behind the leader is for me the main improvement. And the consistency in the race was really good.
“The bike worked well, but not perfectly. We have a few things to try to improve for the next race. The main thing is that it was the first race of the season. My lap time from start to finish was the same.
“In the first tests we did, we were 13th, 16th, 17the. So the work we've done together to get here has been really good.
“If you had told me I would finish in the top ten, I would have been happy. I'm really happy with the work we've done. Thanks to the team.
“I had a great race. Everything went well in the second part of the Grand Prix, even if in the end I was not able to finish best independent driver. But I was aiming for the top 10 and so I'm satisfied. I would like to thank my team who always believed in me. See you in Argentina. »
Ranking :
Maverick Viñales ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 38m 59.999s
Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 39m 0.460s
Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 39m 1.927s
Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 39m 6.744s
Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 39m 7.127s
Aleix Espargaro ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 39m 7.660s
Scott Redding GBR Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 39m 9.781s
Jack Miller AUS Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 39m 14.485s
Alex Rins ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)* 39m 14.787s
Jonas Folger GER Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 39m 15.068s
Jorge Lorenzo ESP Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 39m 20.515s
Loris Baz FRA Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP15) 39m 21.254s
Hector Barbera ESP Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 39m 28.827s
Karel Abraham CZE Aspar MotoGP Team (Desmosedici GP15) 39m 29.122s
Tito Rabat ESP Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 39m 29.469s
Pol Espargaro ESP Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 39m 33.600s
Bradley Smith GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 39m 39.703s
Sam Lowes GBR Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)* 39m 47.130s
Photos © Octo Pramac Racing
