Redding revels in competition on return - “ there ain’t no slow guys out in BSB anymore!”

Scott Redding continued to make an impact on his return to the British Superbike paddock. After a solid start at what was regarded as a baptism of fire at a wet and tricky Knockhill, where he picked up a fourth as stand in rider for Hager PBM Ducati a dry Brands Hatch was his playground.

Switching to the number four for 2025 (his regular #45 was taken by rookie Scott Swann) Redding put in the hard work on Friday, recording more laps in practice than anyone else, to get reacquainted with the Kent track.

With a second under his belt in race one, thoughts turned to picking up the trophy for the most points at Brands Hatch - the King of Brands trophy, which looked very possible following his sprint win- his first in BSB at Brands -  as Bradley Ray crashed out:

“This weekend’s been mega. Honestly, I came here for that trophy. Actually that was my main goal, to try and get that. I knew it’d be a big shot and a big ask, but nothing was impossible, especially after I won this morning.

Coming to this race weekend, I thought if I can get one or two podiums, that will set me up nice to build up my momentum.

Just having some good track time and I had some good feel. I was able to fast track that a little bit and then battle with Brad this morning to take a win - which was mega.”

• 2025 British Superbikes: Brands Hatch - Race Results (3)
• 2025 British Superbikes: Brands Hatch - Race Results (2)

Redding thought the rain and the safety car had hindered his chances, especially after seeing the Yamahas run though the damp patches with relative ease, only to find out he could not do the same:

“Then this afternoon it was more tricky conditions again, and the Ducati didn’t really favour those wet patches over the bumps, That was our weakest area anyway, then we got put some wet patches on it.

So I was trying to follow the Yamahas through there but every time I was just coming in all sorts of shapes, so I backed it off a bit, tried to use my race knowledge and then come back later on.”

Redding made that big comeback, and was able to fight back into a battle between himself and Ray for the final podium spot:

“And I came back, and I was coming strong. Safety car came out - and this morning I had a big tyre drop - so Kyle actually did something different than what I did with Brad this morning with the safety car with the speed, so I thought if I had more temperature, maybe it’d be better, and I just struggled again.

I thought it’s a big ask to try and win this race, I’m not really super comfortable. I’ve had a great weekend and then this trophy come into my head, and I was thinking - if I ain’t on the podium I’ve got no chance pf the King of Brands. So happy to get that. Happy to be on the podium. I’m super happy to be back in BSB. The fans have been amazing, everyone has been so welcoming for me to be back and. you know, hats off to all these guys because the level is high and I think the race was great to watch.”

The fans agreed giving him a second trophy, Rider of the Round.

On being asked if he thought the rider level was higher than in his title winning year, Redding revealed he believed, in comparison to his time in WSBK, that the BSB paddock holds some equally fast riders:

“The proof is in the pudding. You look at the lap times that the guys are doing - yeah, there’s an improved tyre, and the track surfaces, but I can tell you coming from Worlds, the pace is high, you know Brad come from Worlds last year, the pace is there, like, there ain’t no slow guys out in BSB anymore!

So it’s great for the championship, it’s great for us racing.”

Redding finished by moving onto the fact that Ray’s dominance came to a halt this round, after picking up the first win, Brand Hatch ended with three winners over the three races:

“We don’t want one person going away. Unfortunately you had that with Brad most of the year, but this weekend’s changed a little bit for him - so now we need to see how he can handle that.

Obviously I’ve got no pressure about championships. So , for me, I’m in for every race, but it was great to see Kyle and Dan and even Christian Iddon coming up there in the beginning.”