The summer break has helped rejuvenate Scott Redding, with the Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider returning to MotoGP at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and finishing the opening day of practice in eighth position.

Redding has had a difficult year so far but improvements made during the German Grand Prix have given the team a new direction to follow with setup, allowing the 22-year-old Briton to build his confidence in the bike.

Conditions were perfect today with clear skies and warm temperatures. The track condition, however, was far from perfect with the 4.2km circuit still dusty and grip levels changing throughout the course of the day. This will continue into tomorrow's qualifying session with riders forced to constantly make adjustments to compensate for the changes.

The opening day however gave plenty of reasons for Redding to be optimistic ahead of this weekend and offered confirmation of the progress made throughout the German Grand Prix.

Scott Redding: 8th – 1’33.443

"I felt pretty good on the bike today. The track conditions are quite tricky but the feeling on the bike wasn't so bad. We just need to work on a few different areas in the second half of the season. I'm working to improve my corner speed, so we have to try a few small changes on the bike to help that. Overall, though, I'm quite happy with today, because I did most of my laps alone. Of course, we need to see what happens over the rest of the weekend but I'm happy to start with this rhythm."

Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal

"This was a good day and we started this process in the Sachsenring. I think that we're basically where we should be and now we need to build on that. We're within a tenth of a second of the top five, so I must say that as of now everything is going according to plan. However, we must continue working tomorrow if we are to secure a place in Q2.”