Scott Redding says he is entering this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix with the sole aim of getting to the bottom of the front-end issues which have blighted his season. The Briton crashed early in the French GP due to a lack of front grip and admits the practice sessions in Italy are his only real opportunities to fix the problems.
“The only goal this weekend in Mugello is to find a solution to the problems we had in both Jerez and Le Mans. It seems that when grip is hard to find then we suffer a lot more with the front than the other Honda riders and that’s something we need to get to the bottom of. However, it may not be such an issue this weekend, as Mugello is a track where there is normally a lot of grip and that could help us. Even so, we still need to find a good front feeling and more front grip. We’ve tried a lot of things on the bike without any benefit, but we have a few more options to test this weekend. That’s one of our biggest problems at the moment; our only chance to test changes is during race weekends when track time is limited. I like the Mugello circuit, but it’s demanding of the bike and tyres and also of the rider, both mentally and physically. I suspect we’re in for another tough weekend in Italy, but preferably one that ends with a decent result on Sunday”.
Redding’s Chief Engineer at Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS, Chris Pike, believes that a boost in Redding’s confidence levels could lead to a large step forward on the bike.
“The last few races have been difficult for both Scott and the team. While Scott’s pace in the first free practice sessions is good, at the moment he isn’t able to improve on his lap time as the weekend progresses. We need to rebuild his confidence in the bike, so he can start riding to its strengths but, as he’s at the extreme end of the physical spectrum compared to the three other factory Honda riders, it’s proving more difficult than expected to find a setting he’s comfortable with, despite the collective efforts of the team, HRC and Öhlins. We will continue working to find a solution this weekend at Mugello, a track where grip is never normally an issue.”
