He may not be single too much longer after ‘ that ’ dramatic proposal to girlfriend Jayce on the podium at Most recently , but in every way Scott Redding has been on a fast groove of WorldSBK Superstardom since he first came to the class in 2020 . We caught up with him at Navarra just before he almost took three wins from three starts . And he had just said he was going to race for BMW next year .
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In the old days when you bought music you had to buy a ‘ record ’ - vinyl you might say nowadays - and if it was a single ( that ’ s a ‘ single ’ track on the double-sided vinyl record for all you download kids out there ) you had to set the ‘ turntable ’ to 45 revolutions per minute to get it to play at the right speed . Scott Redding - race number 45 for as long as anybody can remember - is a thoroughly modern man in many ways but in plenty of racing approaches he is as old school as they come . An analogue vinyl racer with little time for the PR fluff that follows in a now fully-digitised world , where all the hisses and scratches have been all cleaned up from too many competitors . No doubt about it , Redding has been as untamed a WorldSBK creature as it is possible to be since he came into the category in 2020 , on the same dramatic blood-red Ducati brand that made another mouthy Englishman so famous in the 1990s . Which is unusual in some ways because other than one winning year in BSB before he came to WorldSBK , Redding has been a product of the MotoGP™ paddock in every possible way , not WorldSBK . And yet still … he would fit right into any ‘ ride hard , then try a bit harder ’ WorldSBK race from the Foggy era , and be right at home trading verbal blows with his rivals in print and in parc ferme as was so often the case in WorldSBK decades gone by . It takes about five minutes in company with Redding for the first time to realise you are talking to a one-off , a modern-day maverick , a clever man who barely went to school . Try to define or categorise Scott Redding at your peril . He ’ s that kind of character , a spirit that does not want to be caged . Considering Redding has been a racer since an early age , he has not been dreaming of being a champion since he could walk . “ I ’ ll be honest ,” said Redding when asked about his early dreams , “ I never looked at it like that . I never looked at it like , ‘ I want to be there , I want to be world champion .’ Only when I got there . When I got to 125s in 2008 , the first goal was to get points in my first race . After I qualified on the front row and finished fifth , that was out the window . Then the goal was to win races . I always go to win whatever I do . Maybe that ’ s why I don ’ t look at it too far down the line , because no matter what I do , I want to win . I will work for it , and I will keep working for it . So , I ’ m more of maybe a believer and a worker instead of somebody that is just thinking . A lot of people say , “ I ’ d love to be world champion .” Redding would have a question for them in those circumstances . “ How much are you willing to work ? His own answer is , “ I ’ ll go out seven days a week working for it . You might go three . I ’ m willing to go more . So , it ’ s not really too far in the future . When I was almost Moto2 world champion , I put everything into it . It just didn ’ t happen , but I was there . I was in contention . The problem with this sport is a lot of it comes down to the machine . A big percent of it comes down the machine . That ’ s why sometimes it can be more difficult . You can put as much effort in , but you might not get that out , is the case . So , you need to have a good bike , a good team . You put your effort in and you can make that 5 % more with desire and motivation to make one step more .” Scott , now is not scared to speak his mind . He can ’ t help it . But how much of
that is deliberate and how much of that is just him ? He scoffed at the idea of ever having media training . “ I can ’ t help it . Does it look like I ’ ve ever had media training to you ?” The answer to that is of course no , but it doesn ’ t mean he ever had media training offered to him and said , thanks but not thanks . “ I would also say I ’ m not f ***** g wasting my time ,” said Redding the very idea of it . “ I ’ ll say what I feel like I need to say . It has cost me a lot of money in the past in certain situations . I kind of learned from it . I know what I said is right , or else I wouldn ’ t have said it . Maybe the way I said it was wrong , yes . But I think that ’ s why people like me more than other guys . Just a bit of character . Why should I be like everyone else ? It ’ s my life , my body , my choices , my mouth . I say what I want . I have to respect boundaries , don ’ t get me wrong . But be yourself . I like that about being here , and especially being in BSB because it was expected in BSB . I could literally be 100 % me . There was no filter . There
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