Scott Redding secured his second successive podium finish, and his third of the season, with a hard fought third place in today's Moto2 race at Assen. Mika Kallio fought back from the fourth row of the grid to finish inside the top ten.
Having struggled with set-up and sustained a knee injury in a collision during free practice, Redding knew today's race would be a tough one. The 19-year-old Briton got a good start from the third row of the grid, battling his way up to fourth in the opening laps. Redding then battled hard with Marc Marquez for second place, before tyre issues forced him to let the Spanish rider go.
Lying third, Redding was unable to hold off a challenge from Tito Rabat at two-thirds distance, but regrouped and fought back to reclaim third position, which he then held to the chequered flag.
Mika Kallio also got a good start and, in the early stages of the race, shadowed his Marc VDS teammate as he moved his way towards the front of the race. Kallio eventually made contact with the leading group, but was forced to drop back at mid-race distance when his rear tyre span on the rim causing vibration and chatter.
Despite the problems, the 29-year-old Finnish rider managed to hold off some strong challenges from behind to retain tenth position at the chequered flag.
Redding's back to back podiums, the first of his Grand Prix career, means the Marc VDS rider remains fifth in the championship standings, but closes to within 10 points of third placed Pol Espargaro. Mika Kallio is still one further place back in sixth.
Scott Redding #45: 3rd Position
"After a difficult weekend, with bike problems and a crash with Toni Elias, I went into the race with a clear plan. I knew where I had to overtake on the opening lap to make up places, so that's exactly what I did. The battle with Marc Marquez didn't go my way this time; out of the slower turns, like turn five, his weight advantage meant he could accelerate quicker out of the corner, so I just made sure I got in front of him going into the turn. It worked for a while, but he eventually managed to get away from me. Tito Rabat took third place for a few laps, but I could see he was struggling and I knew third place was mine. It's great to be on the podium for the second time in two races and I'd like to say a big thank you to my team, who all kept their faith in me during what was, up until the race anyway, a difficult weekend."
Mika Kallio #36: 10th Position
"My start was good, I managed to catch Scott who started a row ahead of me and then we both managed to work our way up to the leading group. The bike felt good and I was easily able to match the pace of the riders in front of me. I'd just started to think about making a move towards the front of the group when the bike started to chatter really badly. It made the bike almost impossible to ride, but I hung on for as long as I could and managed to salvage tenth position at the end. When we checked after the race the rear tyre had spun on the rim. It's bitterly disappointing because there was a real possibility of a podium finish today."
Marc VDS Racing Team Press Release
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