Scott Redding says he can be very satisfied with his bounce back into the WorldSBK top five during the second round of the season at Assen, even if he admits he is riding ‘on the limit’ to be competitive on the BMW.
The Briton drew headlines for all the wrong reasons on his debut with the German factory team at Aragon after mustering just a single point across the three races.
However, the 2020 WorldSBK runner-up appeared more at home around the Dutch circuit aboard the BMW M 1000 RR as he notched up a top ten finish in race one before capitalising on a higher attrition rate in Race 2 to haul himself into a gritty fight for fourth.
Clawing his way to the front of the three-way battle among Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani, a late puncture allowed both to get past him in the closing stages, even if a penalty for the latter would lift him back up to fifth.
A big step forward for Redding compared with Aragon, fifth also represents the best finish for a BMW rider so far this season. However, while the Briton was relieved to be more competitive at Assen, he accepts there is still much work to be done.
“When in race two at the front there could be an accident between Jonathan and Toprak, the pace slowed down a bit,” he told reporters after the race, according to Speedweek. “That gave me the chance to get back into the group. And then I stuck with it, I gave 110 percent every lap to be there. I think if you look at the race you can see that I tried everything.
“In the last three or four laps, I had a puncture in the right tire and lost grip. It was a real shame because I feel like I deserved fourth place. Because I rode hard and well. But it is okay. Finishing in the top six, I'm initially satisfied with that.
“We have to do more. I'm driving at the limit and I'm still 15 seconds down in a race that felt good to me. So we can be satisfied that we got a good result for ourselves, but we have to keep working.
That's the most important thing for me. I want to win. This result is okay for me, but not what I would like. And I think we can do it. Hopefully we can find something that will give us half a second - that's what we're looking for to take the next step.”
