M2: Czech GP: Marc VDS qualifying report

BEST EVER QUALIFYING FOR MARC VDS AT BRNO Scott Redding's tenth place during this afternoon's 45-minute timed session at Brno gave the Marc VDS Racing Team their best qualifying position of the season so far. Hector Faubel qualified less than half ...

BEST EVER QUALIFYING FOR MARC VDS AT BRNO

Scott Redding's tenth place during this afternoon's 45-minute timed session at Brno gave the Marc VDS Racing Team their best qualifying position of the season so far. Hector Faubel qualified less than half a second behind his teammate and will start tomorrow's 20-lap Moto2 race from 19th position on the grid.

A switch to the latest Suter chassis overnight, combined with changes to the rear suspension settings on his bike, eliminated the rear traction problems that Redding had experienced throughout the first free practice session yesterday. The Gloucestershire teenager continued to refine the set-up on worn tyres during the first part of qualifying, before heading out on new rubber to set his fastest lap right at the end of the session.

Redding proved during the early part of this afternoon's session that he has good pace in race trim and is looking forward to battling at the front in tomorrow's Moto2 Grand Prix at the Brno circuit.

Faubel declared himself happy with the progress made on the set-up of his Suter MMX machine over the past two days, as he ended today's qualifying session with a pace less than one second off that of the top five riders. With his confidence in both the bike and tyres improving with every exit from pit lane, the 26-year-old Spaniard has his sights set firmly on a points scoring finish tomorrow.

Scott Redding #45: 10th - 2'04.528
"The switch to the latest chassis brought immediate improvements compared to yesterday. Pete Benson, my crew chief, and Mike Norton, our Ohlins suspension technician, found a good setting for the rear suspension and that made it much easier to push for a good time today. We ran most of the qualifying session on an old tyre, so we know our race pace is good. I'm feeling pretty confident going into the race; if I can get a good start and get away with the leading group then it could well be a case of sticking the elbows out and forcing my way through when the opportunity arises. I really want to leave here tomorrow with a good result and, while a podium finish may be a long shot, I'll be pushing hard for it anyway!"

Hector Faubel #55: 19th - 2'04.989
"I'm not so happy with my qualifying position, but I am pleased with how much progress we've made with the bike during these two days in Brno. My crew have worked really hard to improve the feeling of the bike and, apart from three corners where it's still spinning up on the throttle, the rest is almost perfect. The times from fifth position down to 20th are very close, so it should be possible to fight for a points scoring finish tomorrow. If everything goes well, than it might even be possible to get into the top ten, but I'd need some luck on my side!"

Michael Bartholemy: Team Manager
"I'm happy to see Scott claim our best qualifying position of the season so far, and it's also good to have both our riders on the first page of the timesheet. With Scott we know we have a good race set-up, as he was running a good pace on a used rear tyre early in this afternoon's session. If he can get away with the front two rows then I'm confident he can secure a good result tomorrow. Hector also had a reasonable qualifying session. He might be down in 19th place, but that is still less than a second off the rider in fifth position on the grid. Again, if he can get a good start then I'm sure we'll see him finish in the points tomorrow."