Sponsors and employees of the Pramac lifting-equipment company hailed Italy’s new English leon, 23-year-old Scott Redding, at the launch of the Octo Pramac MotoGP team near Siena on Wednesday night.

Many of the 300 guests at the event filed past Redding to pump hands and have photos taken, after he had taken part in a presentation that included his Italian team-mate Danilo Petrucci, 26, and the 2015 Ducatis that they will ride in the 18-round series.

Ducati will field a mighty four teams on the MotoGP grid, more than any other manufacturer. The Pramac squad occupies the number two slot, while the Avintia and Aspar line-ups will use Ducati GP14 machines.

“Everyone has been so welcoming to me, and that gives me a lot of confidence,” Redding told the crowd. “I think I can achieve a top six placing in the championship, and get a couple of podiums. I believe that with this bike I can give 100 percent of my potential, which I couldn’t do in the last two years.”

They were seasons in which he rode for Honda, but Redding was never comfortable with the world’s premier motorcycle manufacturer. Britain has a long tradition of motorcycle racers and racing drivers finding glory with Italian-red machinery, and Redding seeks to unlock his full potential as a rider in the Ducati family.

“At the Valencia test after the MotoGP round I went from Honda to Ducati. I found that the Ducati was easier to manage, but I had new electronics, new tyres and a new bike to learn about, and it took a little time,” Redding told BSN after the official presentation.

“I heard some riders criticising the tyres, but at the next test at Jerez I went on the track to watch, and I could see from Marquez and others that the tyres were working. On the track with the bike I found that you could push the front. With the Ducati, the position on the bike is better, and the way you move on it, and the power is strong. The Honda is strong, but you can’t use the power because the bike wants to wheelie. The Ducati is smooth and controllable. At Jerez I was faster than the factory riders. I never rode the bike on Bridgestone tyres, so I didn’t have to worry about that.”

Get more on this story and a full gallery of images from the launch in the new Bikesport News digital issue, available in your app store now