QUEDGELEY'S Scott Redding overcame searing temperatures, to claim a richly deserved season best seventh place in a physically demanding MotoGP encounter in Barcelona this afternoon.

Track temperatures were the hottest of the weekend when the 25-lap race got underway, with the track surface boiling at close to 50 degrees.

The conditions made the 4.727km track incredibly slippery, but the 22-year-old brilliantly kept his composure while several other riders fell victim to the greasy surface.

Redding kept himself in the battle for fifth place as he hunted down Andrea Iannone and Bradley Smith.

But as the grip inevitably dropped off in the second half of the race, the Briton was content to settle into a consistent pace on worn tyres to equal his best ever MotoGP finish.

“That was definitely one of my best races of the year and I managed to hold onto the second group for a while and that is really positive for me," said Redding.

"My hand started to go a little bit numb after 15-laps and I was struggling to release the brake gently but I am happy to finish the race in a positive mood.

"The track was obviously very tricky in the heat with so many riders crashing, but my feeling in the first laps was not so bad and I’m happy to equal my best result in MotoGP. We have to build on this now and make sure we can finish regularly inside the top 10.”

Michael Bartholemy, team principal said: “After qualifying and the warm-up I honestly didn’t expect Scott to demonstrate the pace he did.

"He was battling with riders and pushing towards fifth place and he only finished 16 seconds off the podium, so there are signs of positive progress in what was a tough race in the heat, where it was easy to make mistakes.

"The initial goal for this season was to establish Scott inside the top 10 and he has achieved this today; now we have to continue with these results.”