Scott Redding on Red Bull Ring: “What the f*** is this s***?”

Redding is aghast that he’ll be racing a bike on a track that is really more suited to cars. 

How on earth did they overlook this one? That’s what Redding must be asking himself over and over again as he contemplates the Red Bull Ring. With the barriers edging far too close to the track and the scant placement of gravel in the run-off area, the track is hardly suited for the high-speed vehicles donned by MotoGP riders. And well it shouldn’t. The Red Bull Ring was originally meant for cars.

Red Bull Ring tiene rincones como este!#RedBullRing has sites like this one! #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/l7iyrtaPdM

— Marc Márquez (@marcmarquez93) August 11, 2016

“It’s the problem with all the tracks now, everything’s f***ing designed for cars that don’t want to go in the gravel.

“And they put walls everywhere. Not having gravel is okay, but then we need to have a f***ing long run-off.”

Scott Redding

Don’t make the mistake of objecting to his language out of principle. He’s right to be angry enough to swear. It was this very lack of gravel that claimed the life of Luis Salom lately in Barcelona and he’s incensed that this issue has not taken precedence.

“Unfortunately, you know, in the Salom situation – for me, the reason it cost him his life is, there was no gravel there. And I myself, I didn’t notice it, I never even looked if there was gravel – but actually it wasn’t there, it was one of the fastest corners on the track.

“And, if there was gravel there, maybe he wouldn’t have followed the bike and the gravel would’ve slowed him down more”

Scott Redding

Practical concerns, for anyone in their right mind. After all, who wouldn’t want to minimise lives lost by simply moving the riders to a track that actually races bikes? Unfortunately, he might be preaching to the wrong choir. If the Isle of Man TT is any indication, the Motorsports crowd isn’t exactly the most safety-conscious (or sane) of audiences. Anybody going into the profession accepts the inherent risk that comes with it. But the question is, how much risk is too much?