Scott takes three podiums in his first WorldSBK weekend
The first round of the 2020 WorldSBK season, which took place at the Phillip Island circuit (Australia), ended with an excellent result for the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team thanks to Scott Redding’s third consecutive podium finish.
Thanks to third place in the Superpole Race, Scott Redding secured a front row place in Race 2. The start of the English rider, however, was not the best but Scott was good to stay focused and on lap 6 he attacked Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) to regain the third position.
Despite the high consumption of the front tyre, Scott stayed with the leading group and won a duel with Van Der Mark (Yamaha) to take the podium that allows him to go to Qatar with the second place in the Superbike World Championship standings.
READ MOREScott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #45)
“What can I say? I’ve been on the podium three times, on two occasions I finished within a tenth of a second off the winner: not bad for my first Superbike weekend. I want to thank the team for their work. It was very important to get off to a good start and I am very satisfied with that. Maybe we still lack some speed but it would be wrong to make comparisons with Alvaro who is much lighter than me”.
Scott notches up first WorldSBK podium with third place in Phillip Island race 1
The 2020 World Superbike season began today with a spectacular race at the Phillip Island circuit (Australia) as Scott Redding took his first podium with Aruba.it Racing – Ducati while teammate Chaz Davies made a great comeback by finishing eighth.
Starting from the front row (P2) after a convincing Superpole, Scott led the race from lap 12 to lap 16 before being involved in a gripping battle with the Razgatlioglu (Yamaha), Van Der Mark (Yamaha) and Lowes (Kawasaki). On the final lap, the British rider tried to create the conditions to exploit the power of his Ducati on the final straight, conquering the third place just 41 thousandths of a second from Razgatlioglu and 7 thousandths of a second from Lowes.
READ MOREScott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #45)
“I am very happy with the way we started the season with both the front row this morning and the podium finish in Race 1. I said that finishing in the top three positions would be a great result and for that, I thank the team for the work done so far. I can say that it has been a phenomenal race, we fought until the end and I think that people watching from home and especially those who are on the track enjoyed a lot”.
Scott quickest in Friday’s first free practice sessions at the Phillip Island
Scott Redding started in the best possible way his first season in WorldSBK with Aruba.it Racing – Ducati finishing the #AusWorldSBK free practice in first place.
The first day of activity of the 2020 WorldSBK began with heavy rain that forced the riders to stay in the pits for a long time. Scott Redding (along with six other riders) entered the track mid-session in wet conditions managing to set the quickest lap time in the last run.
The sun was back to shine before the FP2 and the British rider completed a long run before returning to the track for an extremely incisive time attack, which allowed him to finish in first place with more than four-tenths advantage over Razgatlioglu (Yamaha).
READ MOREScott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #45)
“It was a very positive day even though we couldn’t complete many laps in the first session. We also did a great job because I lapped completely alone almost all the time without being able to exploit any slipstream. The race pace is good and that gives us a lot of confidence. Expectations? I understand that the Ducatisti expect a lot from me but, as I’ve already said, there are many things I still have to learn. I can’t hide the fact that getting on the podium tomorrow would be an extraordinary result”.
Scott Redding 6th as official WorldSBK testing concludes at Phillip Island
Two days of official WorldSBK testing for the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team, ended today at the Phillip Island Circuit (Australia), with Scott Redding and teammate Chaz Davis in 6th and 11th position respectively.
Scott got off to a great start on Day-2, staying in P1 for a long time. A crash at turn 10 at the start of the afternoon session (after a good lap in 1’30.8 and the best T4 overall) delayed the work programme for the second testing day. His team, however, did an extraordinary job allowing him to get back on track for the final run.
Both Aruba.it Racing – Ducati riders also received positive information about the race pace ahead of the first round of the 2020 WorldSBK season which will kick off on Friday with the #AusWorldSBK free practice at the iconic Phillip Island circuit in Victoria State, Australia.
#45 Scott Redding – Combined Standings Day 1-2: P6
Day-1: P6 (1’31.236, +0.496, 46 laps)
Day-2: P6 (1’30.885, +0.362, 45 laps)
READ MOREScott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #45)
“I’m very pleased with what we’ve done. They were two important days in which we worked on many aspects. We have closed the gap to front guys and the feeling with the bike is definitely positive. It’s a shame about today’s crash but the important thing is that there were no consequences. Maybe we still need to improve on the single lap but the race pace data is very positive”.
Scott qualifies on eighth row in complicated Phillip Island conditions
The cold asphalt at Phillip Island continues to complicate work for teams and riders. Temperatures on the Australian circuit were once again demanding today, combined with a strong wind the contributes to cooling the Michelin tyres.
Both Scott Redding and teammate Aleix Espargaró made steps forward compared to yesterday, working intensely on the setups for their RS-GP machines. The significant changes increased the feeling for the two Aprilia riders, despite the results of the qualifiers where Scott finished twentieth.
READ MORESCOTT REDDING
“Both Aleix and I are struggling on this track. Even using the softest compound tyre, I was unable to find the right confidence. It almost seems like I’m using the hardest tyres. For FP4 we made some big changes and I was able to recover a bit of feeling, but in qualifying the gap was reconfirmed because apparently the other riders are able to take advantage of better grip.”
Scott just outside the top ten in Australian Grand Prix comeback
Scott Redding returned to be competitive form after a difficult period and takes part in a great comeback from 20th to 11th place in the Australian GP at the iconic Phillip Island circuit.
Scott was in P20 on the grid of Michelin® Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix and his start was not the best. The English rider, however, remained focused and since the first laps started to run with a good pace.
On lap 10, he had already recovered 5 positions and his race pace was one of the fastest. On lap 17 he overtook Lorenzo before being involved in a terrific scrap with Pedrosa and Dovizioso.
The final stages of the race were crazy and Scott managed to win the fight at the chequered flag, finishing 11th.
READ MORE11th Scott Redding
“I’m really very happy for this race. I’ve come back to enjoy riding my bike. The start wasn’t good but from the first laps I found a great feeling. It is a great satisfaction after a very complicated period for me. Now I want to finish the season at its best with two good races in Malaysia and Valencia”.
Superb seventh for Scott Redding at Phillip Island
The Octo Pramac Yakhnich’s riders are proving to have a good feeling in the GP overseas and gain the second consecutive double Top 10 after the one recorded in Japan.
The Sunday of the Michelin Australian Grand Prix was marked by the sun, that allowed riders to lap in dry conditions for the first time over the weekend.
Scott Redding lost two positions off the start but did very well to keep focus and remain glued to the Top 10.
The race was exciting and saw the two Octo Pramac Yakhnich’s riders fighting especially with the factory Honda of Hayden and the landlord Miller, swapping positions several times.
Five laps to go, after he managed to take the head of the group, Scott began to lap faster by building a small advantage, which allowed him to end in seventh place.
7th – Scott Redding
“I am happy with this result because during the morning warm up I was not able to find a good feeling. We changed a lot and took risks that have paid. Unfortunately, I have not had a good start but I was calm, I put my head down and I just thought to ride. After the first five laps I started to get a good rhythm and this has given me a lot of confidence. At the end, the seventh place is very positive.”
Source: Pramac Racing
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