Championship leader Scott Redding admits he’s happy to end day one at Brands Hatch second quickest after just 30 laps of the track.
The Be Wiser Ducati rider is tackling another new circuit this weekend as the Bennetts British Superbike Championship makes its first trip of the year to the Kent track.
Yet it seems to have done little to slow down the ex-GP man, who ended the opening day 0.481s down on team-mate Josh Brookes.
“Yeah, I’m feeling quite good – it’s track I’ve not ridden before so I’m quite happy with that,” he told Bikesport News. “I was quite competitive from FP1 and then I moved up to second in FP2 which is good.
“I’m a little bit behind Josh but I only used one new tyre in FP2 because I’m trying to learn the track and learn the tyre feeling and everything else in a short time but I’m happy.
“We’ve got a little bit of work to do, we will see what we need to improve on but you know, it’s not bad after 30 laps of the track.”
Redding, who is still riding high from his triple win at Donington Park last month, says he had been eyeing the top five by the end of day one, and as a result is feeling confident he can give his team-mate a run for his money in qualifying.
“I expected to be top three, top five even, that’s where I feel I can be now with the bike working well. The track I still need to learn but it’s not as difficult as Oulton.
“Oulton taught me a lot about all the new tracks I’m going to, I’ve got a lot of things in the pocket from there and I’m just looking forward to trying to get a bit closer tomorrow.”
