MotoGP exile Scott Redding has confirmed he will join the Bennetts British Superbike grid in 2019 after signing a deal with Paul Bird’s Be Wiser Ducati team to ride a works-backed Panigale V4.
Redding was given the Spanish archer from Aprilia in the middle of this season and looked at options in Moto2 and WorldSBK before negotiations with Bird at the British MotoGP round saw him seriously consider a move to BSB.
This has now come to fruition and will include a WorldSBK wildcard or two, dependent on the two series’ calendars.
“It’s fantastic to be coming to BSB, it’s a championship I’ve never raced in and learning the circuits is very much part of the challenge which I’m looking forward to most,” said Redding.
“This is a very exciting venture for me with a very competitive bike and the most successful team and I’m here to show what I can do. We will make the right preparations and I’m delighted the first round will be at Silverstone where I have great memories. MotoGP is tough and without the correct packages, it’s hard to win but BSB is at such a high level, I want to prove I’m capable of winning. It’s also a new experience and very important that I can race in front of my loyal fans in the UK more regularly.”
Bird and Redding are resurrecting a partnership which saw the team boss back Redding in various junior championships at the start of his career which began with mini-motos in 2001.
Redding has previous with versions of Ducati’s V4 engine, having raced one for the Pramac team in MotoGP for two seasons.
Who Redding will have as a team-mate now is being narrowed down but Bird will want a proven race winner while Redding learns the BSB circuits. With Leon Haslam and Jake Dixon already signed up and ready to ship out, is Josh Brookes the man for the Penrith team?
