Scott Makes British GP History
(23 June 2008)
Scott Redding has become the first British rider to win a 125 GP for 35 years. He won the British round of the 125cc MotoGP at Donington Park in front of nearly 90,000 spectators. The last rider to acheive it was Chas Mortimer in 1973. In addition to that, Scott also became the youngest rider ever, at 15 years 170 days, to win a Grand Prix. Prior to that, the youngest rider to win had been Italian rider Marco Melandri, who was 15 and 324 days old when he won his first 125cc race in Holland, back in 1998. Apparently, he was so shocked that, when he took the chequered flag, his reaction was born of ignorance of how to celebrate. "I thought: 'Whoa, what do I do now?' I'd never been in that position before."
Comparisons didn't end there for the modest Quedgeley rider. He made it to the top of the podium earlier than Valentino Rossi, whose first win came at his eleventh 125cc grand prix. Scott's win was ahead of rivals with vastly more experience, who have competed in up to 150 races. To give an idea as to just how significant the vistory was, Scott wasn't allowed to test the 125cc race machine until January, the month of his 15th birthday. In addition, his knowledge of Donington Park to date amounted to just three practice laps on an 80cc Metrakit bike four years ago.
The icing on the cake would have been to have acheived this momentous goal in front of a record 89,000 home crowd. After the race he said: "It's unbelivable. After first qualifying we got on the front row and that was a great start for me. It's my first podium and I get to stand on the top step. It's unbeleivable; I don't know how I feel quite yet. I've never had a podium before and to win at my home Grand Prix is an incredible feeling."
"I think the wind helped me today - I always seem to go better when it's windy and the bike felt good. When I was following Andrea Iannone, I kept showing him my front wheel, thinking: 'He might go down.' When Iannone crashed, I thought: 'It happens, so that's good. I knew that I had the race won and just had to focus and bring it home.
"To win in front of the British fans is a dream come true. I wasn't allowed any champagne on the podium because I'm too young but luckily Mike (Di Meglio, the second-placed veteran 20 year-old) gave me some of his. I said before this weekend that I would like to get a podium finish this year. Now that I've got one I've just got to keep getting on the podium. I should be back at school on Monday but I am off to Assen for the next race and hopefully I can get another podium soon. Maybe next year I'll try for the 125cc world championship. My Blusens Aprilia works well, but if I had a bit more power I could go for the title."
Amazingly, Scott acheived his result using an underpowered, old model Aprilia run by a privateer team. A win ahead of the factory teams makes it all the sweeter. We extend our warmest congratulations to Scott and the Blusens team.