Scott Redding‘s first, and possibly last, season in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship was nothing short of a dramatic one for the 26-year-old Be Wiser Ducati rider.
It all started in October 2018 where Redding announced that he would be leaving the MotoGP paddock after a five-year stint in the premier class, to join Paul Bird‘s Be Wiser Ducati team, alongside a very experienced Josh Brookes on the all-new Panigale V4 R.
Redding completed his 2018 MotoGP season with Aprilia, scoring just 20 points over the course of the 18 races.
After a tricky season in MotoGP, the Gloucestershire rider debated retiring from Motorsport completely, that was up until the British Superbike offer came up.
Redding’s intentions were clear from the get-go, to rebuild his love and passion for Motorcycle racing, and to get back to winning ways, something he hadn’t done since his home Grand Prix back in 2013.
Once the MotoGP season was over, Redding headed out to Spain to prepare for the 2019 BSB championship. Little did he know, his preparations were about to get even tougher.
In January, Redding took to the track on an Ohvale minibike along with a few of his friends, whilst out training, Redding lost the front under braking and crashed. As he was sliding, he made contact with a small plastic barrier, snapping his femur.
With just four weeks until the first pre-season test in Monteblanco, it was unsure whether Redding would be fit enough to ride.
Over the course of his recovery, Redding was treated at several hospitals, with Doctors suggesting the minimum amount of time it would take to recover was 8 weeks.
Before you knew it, Redding was back on a pushbike, building up strength in the leg before eventually jumping back onto a Supermoto bike.
Pre-season preparation kicked off in Monteblanco, Spain, which saw newcomer Redding leave the Spanish circuit on top of the timesheets ahead of the final mainland European test in Portimao.
Redding returned to England off the back of two successful pre-season tests and was ready for the season ahead.
Kicking off his 2019 season, Redding picked up a podium in race one but was wiped out of contention in the second race after an early collision with Honda‘s Andrew Irwin.
Redding missed out on a podium finish at Oulton Park but bigger things were to come as the championship headed to Donington Park.
At Donington Park in 2008, Scott Redding became the youngest ever winner of a motorcycle Grand Prix and the first British rider to win at home since Ian McConnachie in the 80cc race at Silverstone in 1986. Eleven years later, Redding was back on the top step at Donington Park.
Not one, not two, but three race wins at the Leicestershire circuit saw Redding take control in the British Superbike Championship standings, leading Tommy Bridewell by 6 points.
Redding’s first visit to Brands Hatch was a mixed one, picking up no points in the first race after a poor tyre gamble left him down in 22nd place, but picked up his 5th podium finish of the season with a third place in race 2.
The championship headed north for the small and quirky Knockhill circuit, with unpredictable weather conditions, it was set to be a tricky weekend for all.
Redding took that in his stride and picked up two more podium finishes, with a second-place finish in race one, and a race win in the final race of the weekend.
The Ducati rider then continued his fine form, picking up his second and third race wins in a row, completing the Snetterton double.
Thruxton was next up on the calendar, the fast, tyre punishing circuit was another new challenge ready for Redding to take on. The first race of the day saw Redding come home in second, behind Andrew Irwin who picked up his first-ever British Superbike win, but race 2 saw Redding take another huge dent in his championship after failing to complete the long lap penalty, which saw him drop outside of the points after a post-race penalty.
With just two races left to decide the showdown six, Redding’s lead in the standings was just 20 points over teammate Josh Brookes, who went on to take a second and a win at Cadwell Park.
Redding’s first visit to Cadwell Park saw him come away with just a fourth-place finish after another incident with Andrew Irwin saw the pair crash out on the second lap.
Redding now trailed Brookes by 12 points with just three races remaining at Oulton Park to pick up the maximum amount of Showdown podium credits.
Brookes, Redding and Bridewell all shared the glory at the Chesire circuit, but crucially in the third and final race of the weekend, Brookes crashed out of the lead. With the points reset to 500, and the podium credits added, Brookes went into the first Showdown round just 3 points clear of teammate Redding.
But Redding took control, winning all four of the Showdown races with a dominant double at both Assen and Donington Park, and went into the final round of the season 28 points ahead of Brookes.
Brookes did everything he could at Brands Hatch, picking up three race wins, but a second and two thirds from Redding was just enough to stay on top of the standings and win the title by just 5 points.
Scott Redding now heads to World Superbike as the BSB champion, jumping onto the same bike, just with more electronic aids, can Redding produce the same bit of magic as he takes on Jonathan Rea in 2020?