Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS depart the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia after three days of testing satisfied with the progress made, as Scott Redding improved his lap time once again in the final session to end the test 16th on the timesheet.

Having finished less than a second off the fastest time yesterday, Redding was disappointed that a fast lap from Marc Marquez late in the final session today increased the gap again, but the 22-year-old Briton leaves Malaysia happy that his confidence aboard the Honda RC213V he’ll race this season is much improved.

Redding and his crew will now analyse all the data collected during the three-day test in Sepang to formulate a comprehensive plan for their next test, which takes place at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar, starting on Saturday 14 March.

Unlike Sepang, Redding counts Qatar as one of his favourite circuits and the Team Estrella 0,0 Marc VDS rider is confident that he can further close the gap to the front runners during the third and final MotoGP preseason test of 2015.

Scott Redding: 16th – 2’00.695

“I’m not really satisfied that the gap to the front increased today; yesterday we were under a second away, but today we’re 1.5s off. On a more positive note, I’ve learnt a lot about the bike and my riding style, especially under braking and on corner entry, and my lap times have been consistently in the two-minute bracket. I was lacking traction out of the slower turns; I felt good in the fast corners, but exiting the last corner for example I was struggling to find grip and lost a bit of time. My target for this test was a lap time of 2’00.4 so we missed that by a few tenths, but I’m happy enough with what we’ve achieved over the three days here”

Michael Bartholemy; Team Principal

“Although our position on the timesheet doesn’t reflect it, this has been an extremely positive three-day test for both Scott and the team. Scott has made a big step forward here; he feels more comfortable on the bike and he now has a far better understanding about how to get the best from it. Together with the team he has focussed on improving both the set up and his feeling with the bike and we can see from the data that we have made significant steps forward in a number of areas. Now we will head to the next test in Qatar, a track that Scott likes, where we need to put everything together and focus a little more on lap times. I’m confident, given what we’ve learnt here in Sepang, that we can do this.”