Finishing inside the top ten on the opening day of the Malaysian Grand Prix marked a solid start to the weekend for Scott Redding. Having been fifth fastest in the morning the 22-year-old was consistent throughout both sessions and looks set to secure a strong result this weekend.

However, a lack of feeling from the front end when the temperatures rose in the afternoon left the Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider feeling that there was still plenty of room for improvement. Finding a solution to the front end issues, as well as improving the set up to conserve the rear tyre, will be critical to a good result here at Sepang.

With rain forecast for tomorrow it was important for riders to finish the opening day inside the top ten, to ensure they automatically go through to Q2 should tomorrow’s 45-minute FP3 session be run in the wet. As a result finishing ninth fastest on the combined timesheet today offered plenty of reason for encouragement for the rest of the weekend.

Redding was one of only six riders not to improve their times in the afternoon session, but he comfortably made it into the top ten times having completed 31 laps over the course of the day.




Scott Redding: 9th – 2’01.218

"I'm pretty happy with today. This morning was good because we had a good base from the test here, but we still need to try some changes with the electronics. This afternoon was a little bit more difficult for me because the hotter temperature gave a greasy feeling with the front. It was not bad though and I feel quite comfortable with the bike so we just need to work a little bit more with the electronics for the tyre life. We'll work on these things for tomorrow and try and improve the lap time because it was a little bit more difficult with the hotter track temperature in the afternoon but, then again, it's the same for everybody."

Chris Pike: Chief Engineer

"Looking after the rear tyre is very important here in Malaysia. We get a lot of spinning from the rear here at Sepang that, combined with the high track temperatures, makes big demands of the rear tyre. We need to ensure we find a set up that reduces the spinning and looks after the rear, while also working to make the front of the bike more stable in the terms, which is what Scott is requesting.”