MotoGP: Scott Redding To Try And Race In Japan

Cycle News Staff | October 24, 2013

Just five days after undergoing surgery to have a plate and six screws put in the radius bone of his left arm, Scott Redding has been deemed fit to ride in this weekend’s Moto2 World Championship round in Motegi, the Brit having passed a medical test today in Japan.

The 20-year-old crashed in qualifying at Phillip Island on Saturday and underwent surgery in Melbourne on Saturday night. Since the surgery, Redding has undergone four days of rehabilitation therapy under the direction of Clinica Mobile staff.

Redding will undergo a further assessment by circuit medical staff after FP2 tomorrow on Friday and will need to pass that test if he hopes to race on Sunday.

After missing the race in Australia due to the injury, Redding currently trails Pol Espargaro by 16 points in the championship standings.

“There was no way I was going home after Australia, not when there was even an outside chance I could ride in Japan,” Redding said in a team release. “Even after the surgery on Sunday morning I knew I was going to Japan to try and ride. The surgery was a success, Dr. Andrew Oppy and his staff did a great job, and the recovery has been exactly as expected. From Sunday morning onwards I’ve been working to restore the movement and strength in my left hand and, as the medical staff here at Motegi have now confirmed, I’m fit to ride. I have to undergo another assessment after the two free practice sessions tomorrow, but I’ll know straight away whether it’s possible to race. If I’m fit to race then the goal has to be to ensure the championship battle goes down to the final round in Valencia, for which I’ll have had more recovery time.”