OFFICIAL PROGRAMME kid , very hard . The only way I could make it was by results . I was second in the Spanish championship . I dominated the last three or four races . Opened the door for world championship . Then I did some really good races in 125s . Then I went to GP 125s . Great races . Got a contract for the year after , 2009 . Bike was completely shit . Broke down 24 times . No result . When the bike worked I was top five , but on paper there was nothing , so I had nothing the year after but I had no money to go to a team . At this point , I was 16 and I said , “ I will never pay to race .” I would not do it . Why would I pay to risk my life ? Surely the rider gets paid ? It ’ s my job . I dedicate every day of my life to this .” The next comment from Redding indicates he is not like most other racers in another important way . “ If you ’ re somebody that ’ s got a dad that ’ s got a business that turns over ten , fifteen million a year and he can pay for it , then whatever . I wouldn ’ t be doing it ( racing ) if that was the case . I ’ d rather sit at home and do something a bit safer . I ’ d rather go do cycling or go save loads of animals . I ’ d rather do that . Why would I want to be out there risking my life ? I enjoy it to an extent . Good the old track day and that , but it ’ s different when you ’ re pushing on the limit .” In a sport where many ex-racers spend time after their demanding careers in a high risk business , simply bereft at not having racing in their lives anymore , Redding has a very different personal expectation . “ This is the thing . I don ’ t do it to race . I do it to win ,” he explains . “ These guys do it to race . They do it to race . I don ’ t know if they need the adrenaline or they can ’ t accept it ’ s over . I do it to win . That was my biggest issue in the past at Aprilia . When I couldn ’ t win , it had a big impact on me . There will probably be a point in my career where I go , OK . If I stop as a professional rider , I will continue racing for fun . I will maybe do some races for fun , no stress . If I finish 12th , I don ’ t care . I say that now , but when I arrive to that point , it probably won ’ t happen because the way I ’ ve been brought up was always to win . Win , win , win . Second is not acceptable .” When people who have worked with Redding speak of him they sooner or later get onto his work ethic , how strong it is , how much he works on his physical fitness . He needs to , as do many other tall riders , but he used to enjoy himself in public too much for some people . Not for Redding . He wants to put his record straight on that . “ I ’ ll just touch on that subject ,” he said . That ’ s probably been a little bit of the problem for me growing up is I had a good time and people see me having a good time , but people didn ’ t see how much work I put in . So , when I was in world championship and GP and stuff , “ Oh , Scott ’ s partying . Scott ’ s doing this .” Yeah , I am , but the work that I ’ ve been putting in before this race is more than all of you put together . So , I deserve to do that . I ’ m allowed to do that because I work for it . The work is not just on the weekend . The work is the prep coming up to it , in the off-season when people take two months off . Be lucky if I take two weeks off . I went to Mexico for two weeks so I could enter into America . I
“ The first time I went to California to stay with her for a month , I couldn ’ t handle that environment , people spending loads of money ”
had nothing but a pair of shoes . I trained every single day . I told myself , “ stop .” I couldn ’ t . I could not stop myself . I got to California . I had no bike . I found an old bike in my fiancée ’ s dad ’ s garage . Old mountain bike . We ’ re talking a 20-year-old mountain bike . Tires pumped up , off I went . It doesn ’ t have to be a level of equipment . It ’ s just the desire to do it . It ’ s true . People say and see , that ’ s my strong point . I know if I ’ m battling with someone out on track , I ain ’ t going to go because I ’ m tired . That ain ’ t even a question . So it mentally makes me stronger , and that ’ s what I want . I can never let myself down by not being prepared , because then I ’ ll be upset with myself .” Redding also uses physical exercise as a sink - an ‘ earthing point ’ - and even as a way of turning around a bad situation at a key time in his life . “ I don ’ t really get nervous as such . I only get nervous when the machine I ’ m on can ’ t perform and I need to try and make something of it ,” he stated . “ Then I get nervous because I stress myself to do more . I was doing boxing in the past , mainly when I was in Aprilia to calm me down . I was going off on the road roads in that situation . I was still training because I wanted to perform . I just started going wrong ways , getting depressed and stuff like that . So , I needed to do something that could pull me out of that , something that was really tiring me , allow anger to go out , discipline to just myself , no other material . I always work to be better , so if I never struggle , I can ’ t stay in that hole . I was in a dark place . The only thing I could do was fix it myself . So , I kind of turned away from all my friends and everything and I went to Italy . I rented an apartment for two months . I stayed there on my own , and I regrouped myself . I got myself out of that hole . People get in that hole and they stay there for the rest of their life . It ’ s hard . I ’ m always willing to help people like that . But you have to want to do it yourself .” There can be no greater characterisation of Redding the Maverick than the day before this interview was scheduled he agreed terms to ride for BMW in 2022 . Leaving Ducati when he , and maybe only he , feels it has the potential to be another hiatus for his career prospects says a lot about Redding and his approach to racing as a paying job , plus a way to gratify his need for wins and more wins in the future . Maybe it ’ s a very ’ 45 ’ thing to do
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