Redding begins qualifying on Saturday in Qatar

Gloucester teenager Scott Redding is targeting a top five finish in this weekend's Moto2 opener in Qatar.

Redding, 17, switched from the 125cc class to the new Moto2 championship where he will ride for Marc VDS Racing.

The former British 125cc Grand Prix winner adjusted well to the four-stroke Honda and impressed in the recent three day test in Jerez, Spain.

"Top five would be phenomenal and that's what I will be aiming to do," Redding told BBC Gloucestershire.

"The first couple of tests we struggled with the bike but in the last test we had a good result," Redding added.

Moto2 is definitely a high class to be riding in with a lot of competition Scott Redding

"We were top five last week every day, but top 10 for the race would be a great result.

"There are lots of good riders in there, world champions, MotoGP riders, and race winners - it's definitely a high class to be riding in and a lot of competition."

Redding had appeared to struggle to adapt his riding style to the Suter MMX Moto2 machine which he will ride for the season, but made a significant breakthrough during a private two-day session last week.

The youngster continued to improve throughout the three days of the final IRTA test at Jerez, where he was consistently placed in the top-five on the timesheet.

However the Marc VDS team decided during the practice sessions to make a late change to their riding line-up, replacing Belgium's Vincent Lonbois with Hector Faubel.

Lonbois, who finished third in the 2009 European Superstock Championship, struggled to master the Moto2 bike.

Spanish rider Faubel, 26, finished second in 2007's 125cc World Championship standings, before moving up to the 250cc class last year, where he finished ninth in the championship.

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