Thanks to the seventh top ten finish of the year, claimed today at Valencia, the Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini rider Scott Redding ended his first season in MotoGP as the best placed rider in the Championship among those riding the Open Class Honda RCV1000R, with 81 points. The English rookie crossed the finish line of the Grand Prix of Valencia in tenth place in a race made difficult by the rain that appeared at times making the Spanish track damp.

His teammate, Alvaro Bautista, was unfortunately unable to collect points in his last appearance with Honda: the Spaniard continued to struggle with the same rear grip issues that slowed him down for most of the season, ending the race only in sixteenth place.

ALVARO BAUTISTA (16th)

“Unfortunately, the result of this race sums up our season: a disaster. Even in this last race we were never able to make the bike work and as a result we were able to fight with the second group of riders. When it started to rain the situation was even worst and I was feeling even less feeling. Too bad, I’m sorry also because this was my last race with Honda. Today is coming to an end a season to forget, definitely one of the toughest in my career”.

SCOTT REDDING (10th)

“I’m happy for this top ten result in the last race: there were tricky conditions, but I was able to use it to my advantage. The group of riders in front of me was not so far and I tried my best till the end, even though the soft tyre dropped down a little bit, so it was quite difficult for me to ride on the long corners, because you need to spin it to make the bike turn. However, overall we had a great weekend: I wanted to make a good result to say thank you to all the team and I did it. We have been quite a lot faster than the other Open Honda bikes and I ended the season as the first Open Honda in the Champonship, so I’m really happy”.

FAUSTO GRESINI

“Scott made a great race today, feeling at ease also when it started to rain, a condition in which he was able to approach the performance of the fastest riders. I think that he showed a great potential with this bike in his debut year in MotoGP, so I make him my best wishes for the rest of his career. I am very sorry for Alvaro, that also in this race he was not able to find the right feeling with the bike, as for most part of the season. Too bad, because we wanted to end our experience with Honda in a different way. Finally, I would like to thank Honda for these 18 seasons spent together and all the HRC staff for their support”.

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