WorldSBK: BMW sign Redding for the 2022 season

Scott Redding has announced that he will be moving from to Ducati to the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team for 2022. 

2019 British Superbike Champion and current third-placed World Superbike rider Scott Redding has been announced to be joining the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team for the 2022 Superbike World Championship. 

Redding, who moved to WorldSBK in 2020 with Ducati, has scored eight wins in his time with the Bologna brand at World Championship level, as well as 14 other podiums. The #45 moved up as British Superbike Champion, and finished second in his first campaign in WorldSBK last season, beaten only by Jonathan Rea. 

In 2021, Redding has had good moments, as well as more difficult ones: he has taken eight podiums, including three wins, so far this season, but difficult moments in the start of the season mean he is 50 points down on championship leader Jonathan Rea in the standings.

The announcement comes at an interesting moment, as Redding has appeared to be regaining form with the Panigale V4R. After struggling earlier on in the season, Redding was on the podium three times at the Czech Republic round of the championship in Most, and took a win in the final outing of the weekend over Toprak Razgatlioglu and the aforementioned Rea. 

In an Instagram post, Redding said that BMW “were the first manufacturer that really wanted me to sign for them in WorldSBK, and I’m thrilled that we have been able to reach this agreement.”

Redding continued, saying it was “a very difficult decision” to leave Ducati, and that “I will always have a special place in my heart for the people at Ducati and their incredible fans. My only focus now is to continue giving my maximum for Ducati and my crew for the remainder of 2021,” he said. 

In a statement, the BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director, Marc Bongers, said “In the last years, [Redding] 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.”

Shaun Muir, Team Principal of the SMR-run BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team, said that “it is great that [Redding] 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,” he said.

Having brought in Michael van der Mark for the 2021 campaign, BMW are bringing in Redding to replace Tom Sykes. However, BMW noted in their press release that contract talks for 2022 with Sykes are “underway”, but the details of what agreement they might come to are unclear at the time of writing.