Scott Redding ‘comfortable’ on Ducati, Chaz Davies admits to ‘issues’

Scott Redding says he is ‘very satisfied’ with his feeling on the Ducati Panigale V4 R as he continued his adaptation to the WorldSBK Championship in Jerez.

The ex-MotoGP rider is preparing for his maiden season on the international Superbike stage with the Aruba.it Ducati Panigale V4 R team, but while tricky weather conditions limited meaningful mileage, Redding was quick in the wet and dry.

Ending the test third quickest behind Kawasaki’s Jonathan Rea and Yamaha’s Toprak Razgatlioglu, Redding says he is comfortable on the Ducati with four days of testing to come in Portugal and Australia.

“My first goal is to get to know the bike well, to get to know the team, to understand the tyre behaviour in the best possible way, to work to create a solid base. If I have to be honest, I am very satisfied with what we have done so far.

“I have had a good feeling during these two days even if, obviously, the weather has not helped us. I still feel comfortable in both wet and dry conditions. There are some areas where we need to improve but the balance of these days is very positive”.

On the other side of the garage, however, Chaz Davies endured a difficult couple of days after a crash early on Wednesday ruled him out for the majority of the day. Admitting he is ‘encountering some issues’, Davies says he needs four dry days ahead of make up ground.

“We worked on the bike and that didn’t allow me to focus on performance. I can’t hide the fact that we have encountered some issues in these tests but I am sure we can be much more competitive in the next two days at Portimao.

“The base to work on, obviously, is very good but we need to put together many laps. That is why I hope to have four days in dry conditions between the tests in Portugal and Australia. This would allow us to arrive in the best conditions in the first race of the season.”