Redding back in the hunt after 'important' Argentina

Scott Redding heads to this weekend's Austin MotoGP having scored Aprilia's first points of the season with a twelfth-place finish in Argentina.

The result was something of a relief for the Englishman, who felt at odds with the RS-GP during the opening round in Qatar.

"The race in Argentina was an important one for me," Redding said.

"It allowed me to recover the feeling that I had lost in Qatar after good pre-season training and I finished where I was expecting for the first few races.

"I also did a full race with other guys, so I could understand a bit more about what I need to improve with the bike to go with them. That was really important. Qatar I didn't get that, we had a lot of problems.

"So I need to kind of go where I am now and try to improve a bit more. We need to work also with the medium front tyre, I used the soft front tyre again and I was one of the very few to do so.

"We just need to find our way. We did a good weekend. In the rain we felt really good. Mixed conditions not bad. In the dry was better. So for me now I can step away from Argentina very positive going into Texas."

Following Argentina, team-mate Aleix Espargaro became embroiled in a heated twitter argument with the Pramac team over contact from Danilo Petrucci, which evolved into a dispute with fellow rider Xavier Simeon.

Espargaro is still seeking his first points of the season after technical problems in the opening races.

"Qatar and Argentina were not two lucky races for me. On both occasions, I felt good and we had prepared well for the race, but we were unable to take points due to unexpected issues," he said.

"During the break before Texas, I tried to rest up and recover energy together with my family - kind of a reset to rediscover the positive feeling for the upcoming race. It's not easy, but I know that I have always given my all, so we need to stay focused and continue working."