Former BSB Champ and MotoGP competitor details growing disillusionment with WorldSBK pay and politics
Scott Redding had expected his 2025 WorldSBK season to be a lot better than the 2024 version, especially with a switch to Ducati machinery in the well-respected Bonovo Action team. But it did not quite turn out that way and, as it became clear, Redding had to bring some money to the team to make the ride happen. Not an unusual circumstance in 2025—but not one Redding was ever entirely comfortable with.
After a positive return to BSB for a wildcard outing just before Donington (even at a rainy Knockhill) Redding started to see a different path. That guest appearance rekindled something familiar and satisfying, and he has now officially made the full-time move back to British Superbikes. Last weekend, he returned to BSB at Brands Hatch with PBM Ducati — the team he won the title with in 2019 — claiming a race win during the triple-header.
Redding managed a sixth in his final WorldSBK outing on Saturday at Donington, before it all went a bit wrong on Sunday. But, it showed that he is still fast enough for WorldSBK, but maybe no longer prepared to pay the price – in all ways – of getting his hands on a top bike again.
“I mean, I want to enjoy racing and I enjoy being competitive,” Redding said. “I enjoyed it, but I only enjoyed it because my other results are kind of bad, so I’m like ‘sixth! That’s good.’ You tell me I would be in sixth position five years ago, I would have said it was a bit of a shit weekend.”
“And you’ve got to understand where your level is, and I need to get paid. Like, we are entertaining people. Everyone in the paddock is getting paid except half the riders that are paying to do it. And for me, that’s not fair. It’s not the way to do it.”
“So if a team came to me and said, ‘Okay, you have this much and we pay for your travel and the bike is reasonably good,’ I would have considered staying. But if a team comes and says, ‘you need to pay,’ you can finish the conversation there! I’m not interested because I’ve a baby to think about, my wife, a future. I don’t want to go to work after I’ve been grafting since I was 15 years old. I’ve been a world-class rider, and I’ve done nothing else except be dedicated to the sport. So I wasn’t going to throw all my money away now to try and survive in WorldSBK.”
He continued, “To many riders, their goal is to be in WorldSBK or to win a WorldSBK, to be WorldSBK champion. The ultimate dream that is unreachable for most is to go to MotoGP. And I’ve been there. I’ve done it. I’ve had podiums in MotoGP. I fought for a Moto2 world title. I was the youngest rider to win. I’ve won BSB. I’ve come to WorldSBK; I fought for the championship in my first year.”
“I’ve done a lot. I haven’t quite got what I want, but when I look back, I’m not now going to let it go just to stay here. Like, for me, the ‘name’ is nice, but I want good racing. I want to enjoy it. I don’t want so much stress. And I feel like the bike and team (in WorldSBK) is playing a massive factor now. The riders — like MotoGP a little bit less — I’d say, excluding your Bulega and Toprak — they’re just in another level. Alex (Lowes) has been good, but for the rest of the rivals that were in the same lap time — it’s like the bike setting is making that tenth or two.”
His Knockhill wildcard was eye-opening.
“It was, for me, like a breath of fresh air, because what I did made a difference. If I feel like I can open the gas more, and I want to take that risk, I can do it. But in Superbike, I want to open more — the bike’s not going to let me. So the whole style of it is different.”
“To stay in World Championship would have been great, but I find it very difficult now to see a factory team’s not going to look at me. Satellite teams don’t really have the money to pay the riders, and if they pay the riders — is it really worth it for them? The travel, etc. So I would have liked to stay here, but the options I see are quite slim — to have a combination with a good bike, a salary in a respectable way, what I think should be fair.
“In BSB, I’m a star from being champion there. I feel that people really enjoy me being there. The racing is good. I have more of a profile. It’s a bit easier for me to negotiate a situation that will help me in the longevity for my career, than staying in WorldSBK and after two years be like, ‘I’ve lost all my money — what the fuck do I do now?’”
