Scott Redding on winning at Donington and coping with Pressure

The ability to cope with pressure is a trademark that many top sportsmen share. What many fail to deal with is the expectation that comes with success. Scott Redding, the youngest rider in MotoGP 2 is one sport star that takes it all in his stride.

Redding may only be 17 years of age, but he certainly knows what it is like to carry a weight of expectation on his shoulders. From the moment he first started racing, aged just six, he has been winning races and claiming titles. By eight he was racing in the British Minimoto Championships and by eleven he was winning all six rounds of the Spanish Calypso Cup 80cc series.

However, it was not until 2008 that Redding began to make a serious impact in the world of Grand Prix racing. Entering the 125cc World Championships, the teenager made history by thrilling the Donington crowd and becoming the youngest rider to ever win a Grand Prix race.

The levelheaded youngster concedes that this was a momentous chapter in his career but knows it raised expectations. “Winning my home grand prix was absolutely amazing and I straight away realised that it was a big achievement. I didn’t quite realise the magnitude of the victory until after the race when people told me I had broken all sorts of long standing records.

“I certainly felt that there was a rise in expectation from a lot of the public, but this is something I just have to deal with. I do feel the pressure but you just have to clear your mind as you can’t be on the grid thinking about anything other than the race ahead.”

Redding finished 11th overall in his debut season and claimed the title of Rookie of the Year.� It seemed all was going well for the racer from Gloucester, as he was rewarded with a factory bike for 2009. Racing with the Blusens Aprilia team, he suffered a year of bad luck and mechanical difficulties, with a third place at Donington the only highlight.

“Last year everything went wrong from start to finish. It was a nightmare year as we had so many problems with the bike and I just never seemed to be in the race. It was really bad but I am hoping that I can make up for it over the next twelve months.”

This year has not been easy on Redding who has been forced to make the step up to MotoGP2. At 6ft 2” he was simply too big to continue riding the 125cc bikes and now finds himself racing much more experienced and accomplished riders.

This may have been a natural progression but it has come early for a racer who is still in his teens. Competing with the Marc VDS Racing Team he is riding the 600cc Honda that is capable of exceeding 275kph. A difficult task but one that Redding admits he is already enjoying.

“It has been really hard but at the same time it is good fun. The guys are a lot more experienced and the bikes are a lot bigger so I have to learn quickly. I am the youngest rider by more than two years and I am still picking things up like learning when to brake and when to hold back. You notice a big difference in little places with these riders.”

Currently lying in 13th place in a field of 30, Redding has began the season in a confident manner and hopes to be able to achieve some top ten finishes over the course of the season.

“If we can sort out the problems with the bike then I am confident of placing amongst the top riders but it comes down to how we perform over the entire race weekend.”

Having progressed so rapidly it will come of no surprise if Scott Redding continues to break records and become’s one of the youngest ever riders to compete in MotoGP.

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