Scott Redding says the Honda RC213V is finally starting to feel like his own bike after a positive start to the second Sepang test. The Estrella Galicia Marc VDS rider was eleventh fastest and almost matched his pace from the previous test, despite what the Briton described as less favourable conditions.
“The jet lag wasn’t good this morning, but I’m happy to be back on track after a couple of weeks at home thinking about where we could improve. There isn’t as much grip here as there was at the first test, but we’ve started to modify the bike a bit more today to help me better understand the electronics and the differences. I feel more comfortable and, for the first time, it feels like my bike. I tried a few things with my riding style and we’ve also tested different traction control settings for when the rear tyre starts spinning out of the turns, so it’s been a busy day. The gap to the other guys is still too far, but I’m moving in the right direction and, overall, I’m pretty satisfied because every change has brought an improvement and my lap time wasn’t so bad today.”
Team Principal Michael Bartholemy hailed the breakthrough made on Monday and expects Redding to get stronger and stronger as the week unfolds.
“For the first time Scott commented today that the bike was starting to feel like his bike. To go fast any rider needs to have confidence in the bike, so this is a big step forward in the process we started here a few weeks ago. Our technical staff have worked methodically to find the best set up for our rider, while Scott has focussed on adapting his riding style to get the best from the bike. It’s been an effective approach, with improvements coming with every pit exit and Scott feeling much more comfortable on the bike than he did two weeks ago. Now we just need to continue in this way for the next two days of the test, during which I’m confident we can further close the gap to the top of the timesheet.”
