Redding hits out after fearing repeat of Argentina tyre failure

The Pramac Ducati rider had a miserable time in the Jerez race, finishing last in 19th place, 12 seconds off the bike ahead.

Having run the early race in the 1m42s bracket, he eventually had to drop down into the 1m44s. Redding says the lowered pace was intentional, so as to avoid the kind of tyre failure that he suffered in Argentina.

"The tyre was falling apart – and I probably shouldn't say it, but that's the truth," Redding told media after the race. "It just cost me another race.

"The problem was I felt something wasn't right, and I didn't want to keep pushing and the same happened what happened in Argentina.

"When it's happened to you once and you have the feeling it could happen again, it tells you something's not right."

In Argentina, Redding's tyre came apart violently during FP4, the debris hitting the Briton in the back and leaving him bruised – and the Pramac rider was keen to not face a repeat of that in Jerez.

He continued: "We just checked the tyre and it had started to delaminate, chunks have come out.

"We need to fix something or they need to fix something for the moment. It just didn't work from the word go and it just got worse and worse.

"I couldn't stop, I hit into [Loris] Baz down the back straight, I just couldn't stop the bike. It was a s**t race."

Explaining why he didn't retire the bike, Redding said: "If you pull in and something's not right, Ducati come to you and say 'why should we give you the opportunity?'.

"I learned that in the past – even if it's not going right, you still have to keep trying till the end."

Michelin standstill

Redding, however, does not seem certain that a resolution to his woes is on the horizon and says Michelin believe his above-average size to be the root of the problem.

"We've got a meeting at six [o'clock] with them," he said.

"Their excuse last week was that I was too heavy, I was too big. Why are they gonna change the tyre for one rider, you know?

"Obviously safety comes into it, all Ducatis have struggled this week with it – I don't really know where or what they're gonna do."

The Briton also admitted this issue could hurt his chances of landing a future factory ride.

"They're blaming me, we're saying it's the tyre – so in the end, why would big manufacturers want to take someone who can't use the tyre?" he asked.

"And it's not that we can't use it, it's just not working for us – they made a big change and it's affected us the most, to be honest.

"And like I said, Ducati are struggling but the other guys managed to find a bit somewhere."

Additional reporting by Jamie Klein