It’s just been announced that Scott Redding will be heading to the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team for 2022. The news comes after an impressive performance at the new circuit of Most where the tattooed Ducati pilot managed three podium finishes, including a win. He’ll be teammate to the Dutch rider Michael van der Mark who’ll be starting his second season with BMW in 2022.
You’ll probably remember Redding winning the British Superbike Championship in 2019. You might also remember him giving Rea a run for his money in 2020, in his first season in WSBK. But despite the strong performance in Most last weekend, 2021 has been trickier. Currently third in the championship, he’s languishing 50 points behind the leader, JR.
That said, he’s still one of the only people that can stick it to JR, semi-regularly. In fact from his 42 WSBK races, he’s been on the podium 22 times, with eight of them being victories. Not a bad record. But can Scott Redding take it to the next level on a BMW? Can Scott Redding win the WSBK Championship on a BMW?
Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director obviously thinks there’s a chance. He said
Bongers
“We are very pleased to welcome Scott to our WorldSBK family. He’s proven to make a great transition from GP through BSB into WorldSBK. Now he’s 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. A warm welcome to Scott, we are looking forward to a strong collaboration.”
And Shaun Muir, Team Principal of the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team added
Muir
“We have been following Scott’s career for a number of years. We’re 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. With getting him on board, BMW Motorrad Motorsport once more underlines the huge importance of the WorldSBK project and the aim of establishing themselves at the very top.”
So with the ex-MotoGP rider Scott Redding joining Michael VDM at BMW Motorrad, what of current BMW rider (and 2013 WSBK Champ) Tom Sykes? Well apparently a discussion is underway with Sykesy and BMW about a contract extension for 2022. More on that when we have it.
2 responses
BMW want the title and Scott is probably their best hope, he has the talent and the determination to win, if they can build the bike he will win… JR and Kawasaki are the target to beat…I think Scott is a better rider than JR, JR is the better racer, he’s not a crasher and grabs points every meeting… If Scott can learn from JR and take points when things aren’t going well rather than chasing a podium and throwing the bike down the road he can be 2022 wsb champ..
It sure that’s a good move the Ducati is a race winner the bmw is not!