Redding switches to BMW for 2022 WSBK
After two years on a Ducati, Scott Redding will make the switch to BMW for next year’s FIM Superbike World Championship.
The 28-year-old Brit announced on 19 August that he’d signed a one-year deal with BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team, replacing Tom Sykes alongside Michael van der Mark in the factory squad for 2022. However, BMW Motorrad Motorsport say they are in talks with Sykes about a possible contract extension for next year, which could see three factory BMW M 1000 RRs on the 2022 WSBK grid.
Redding came to Superbikes in 2020 after a grand prix career that stretches back to 2008, with stints in 125cc, Moto2 and five years in MotoGP.
When that door closed at the end of 2018, Redding raced in the British Superbike Championship in 2019 and won the title on a Ducati, prompting an offer from the Aruba.it Racing Ducati factory team to join World Superbikes.
BMW had also tried to lure Redding ahead of the 2020 season, but the Brit apparently went with Ducati’s offer as he felt their WSBK program was more advanced and more likely to deliver a bike capable of winning.
In his debut year in the category, Redding achieved five race wins and nine other podiums on the Panigale V4R to finish second in the championship behind Kawasaki Racing Team’s Jonathan Rea. In this year’s WSBK championship, Redding has five wins, six podiums and was in third place overall at time of writing (post-Round 7).
Having seen BMW’s M 1000 RR up close for the past two years, Redding says he now feels more confident in the ability of the bike and the team to deliver race wins.
For their part, BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team are looking forward to what Redding can potentially deliver.
“We are very pleased to welcome Scott to our WorldSBK family, said Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director. “He has proven to make a great transition from GP through BSB into WorldSBK, to become one of the strongest riders in the field.
“We are therefore convinced that Scott, with his fighting spirit and absolute will to win, is the perfect new addition for the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team and another reinforcement for our entire WorldSBK project.”
Team Principal Shaun Muir added: “We have been following Scott’s career for a number of years and are delighted that he will now become a part of our team. His successes speak for themselves and it is great that he will bring his skills and his experience to the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team in the future.”