Redding 'glad' to have missed out on Ducati's 2017 MotoGP bike

Redding came out second best in an intra-team battle with Petrucci over the second half of last season to get a factory-specification Ducati in 2017, and will ride a year-old bike.

Despite ending up with theoretically inferior equipment, Redding outshone Petrucci in last weekend's season opener in Qatar, topping second practice and qualifying sixth on the strength of that time with qualifying washed out.

Redding converted his grid slot into a seventh-place finish, while Petrucci retired from 10th place with a suspected battery issue after starting 11th.

"It's not really a battle now between me and Danilo," said Redding.

"It's definitely a bit easier knowing he has a different bike, and that it's a better bike.

"So if he beats me, that's how it should be; if I beat him, he is in big trouble.

"That's something for me that is probably going to help me, a little bit less pressure, a little bit less stress - especially when things aren't going right.

"If it doesn't go right for me, I'm a little bit on the side. If it doesn't go right for him, people know he has a GP17, and if he can't perform with it he is going to be the only one that feels the pressure.

"In a way, when I look at the problems at he's been having, I'm actually quite glad I didn't have the bike at this moment in time."

As well as finishing as the top satellite rider in Qatar, Redding said ending up within 10 seconds of race winner Maverick Vinales was encouraging after a tough winter.

The Briton struggled for front-end grip, but a change of forks during the final test provided a way forwards.

"If you asked me two tests ago saying that you would finish seventh, I would have laughed," said the 24-year-old.

"But we got our head down, we knew what we had to do.

"In the end I'm happy to be nine or 10 seconds from the leader, I think that's the closest I've been for a long time in a completely dry race.

"That's the real positive to me because always last year it was 20-25 seconds, so to be under 10 seconds is a step forward."