Scott Redding says his maiden victory in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship – his first two-wheel success in more than five years – takes him back to ‘who he is’ after a difficult tenure in MotoGP.
The Briton, who made the high-profile switch directly from MotoGP to BSB this season with the Be Wiser Ducati team, produced a sparkling performance in the first of three races at Donington Park this weekend, recovering from a slow start to claw his way back into contention and take the lead with four laps remaining.
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Demonstrating impressive fight having been as low as sixth and three seconds off the lead at one stage, not to mention a series of well-executed overtakes, Redding’s success has occurred in only his fifth-ever race aboard a Superbike.
It is his first high-profile win since the 2013 British Moto2 race at Silverstone, while it comes 11 years after he made history to become the youngest winner in GP history at Donington Park aged just 15.
Reflecting on troubled times in MotoGP, not least his 2018 season with Aprilia, Redding says his instant success in BSB has given him huge motivation and love for racing again.
“I just put my heart out there,” he said in the wake of his victory to Eurosport. “All I can say is I dug so deep. It’s not a grand prix win but it is pretty special, I can tell you that [especially] after so many hard years in MotoGP…
“To do that today brings me back to who I am. I really wanted to win that race, I was really fighting for it and I haven’t felt like that for a long time so having that feeling has ignited the fire again.”
Admitting he thought he was out of contention when he slipped back early on, Redding says the image of a looming Tarran Mackenzie and Tommy Bridewell up ahead gave him all the impetus he needed to make his charge count when he arrived.
“I didn’t think I was going to do it but something inside me was like ‘don’t make mistakes, keep plugging away’. I could see I was catching and when I caught them I just thought now it is time to do the show! We had a good little battle and pulling off crazy moves, so I thought I needed to get in and out of here.”
Redding’s win sees him climb to third in the standings, as well as accumulate valuable podium credits for his potential Title Showdown challenge.
