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Scott Redding

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Last week, the debate over the role of rider weight was reignited by a post on Instagram by BMW WorldSBK rider Scott Redding, comparing his own weight to that of Aruba.it Ducati’s Alvaro Bautista, and asking whether there needs to be a minimum combined rider/bike weight in WorldSBK.

To back up his claim, he posted some video clips and sector analysis from the San Juan Villicum circuit in Argentina. “I just think it should be as fair as possible for all of the riders,” Redding wrote.

Though the sentiment is admirable, the thing about motorcycle racing is it is fundamentally unfair.

Somebody else’s bike will always be better than yours. Some other rider will be lighter, stronger, have it easier than you in one way or another. That is of little comfort to those racing in a particular class at a specific event, but it remains true nonetheless.

The way this has traditionally been dealt with is through what is usually called “the package”. The combination of bike, team, and rider is different for each competitor, and rule makers have attempted to create space in each class to allow riders and teams to find multiple ways to be competitive.

Episode 177 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is out, and this one is a WorldSBK show, which means that this one sees Steve English and Gordon Ritchie on the mics.

Joining our dynamic WorldSBK duo is Ducati Corse rider Scott Redding, who sat down with Steve for a one-on-one about his time in the World Superbike paddock, and what he’s looking for from the 2021 season.

Episode 167 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is out, and this one is a bit of a special show, as we are sharing with you one of our Patreon episodes.

In it, Ducati WorldSBK rider Scott Redding sits down for an interview, and then Steve English and Gordon Ritchie  provide some insight and analysis to what Redding discussed.

It makes for an interesting listen, especially as we head into the final round of the 2020 WorldSBK Championship.

Testing has concluded at the Misano private test, with a few changes to the riders present on Thursday. KTM skipped the final day, while a group of WorldSSP riders entered the fray.

Aleix Espargaro was the fastest rider on the final day, getting to within a couple of hundredths of Miguel Oliveira’s best time from the day before, demonstrating the potential of the 2020 Aprilia RS-GP.

Espargaro was happy with both the speed and the pace of the bike, though the reliability of the bike remains a question mark, which will only be removed once the racing begins. 

World championship motorcycle racing takes another step back to the season returning at Misano.

The next three days sees both MotoGP and WorldSBK teams testing at the Italian circuit, preparing for the resumption of hostilities at Jerez in July and August.

Present are the MotoGP teams of KTM and Aprilia, allowed extra testing due to their status as concessions teams. Aleix Espargaro and Bradley Smith are riding for Aprilia, the second test for the Italian factory.

Episode 133 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is out, and this one comes to us again from the WorldSBK paddock, as Steve English and Gordon Ritchie talk about the season-opening round at Phillip Island.

A special early episode (we’ll have another show for you on Thursday, of course), the guys talk about the exciting racing action from Australia, which saw some surprise finishes and promises good things for the season ahead.

The show also includes snippets of audio from riders, including Alex Lowes, Scott Redding, and Toprak Razgatlıoğlu.

It had been known unofficially for weeks, but today, the Aruba.it Ducati team announced that they have signed Scott Redding to ride for them in WorldSBK for the 2020 season.

Redding has had a very strong season in BSB since losing his ride in MotoGP with Aprilia, and is currently second in the standings behind Be Wiser Ducati teammate Josh Brookes.

It’s currently the long WorldSBK summer break, which means that the superbike paddock has more than enough time to wheel and deal…and then of course gossip.

There are a number of rumors coming for 2020, but none of them are nearly as good as the talk about Alvaro Bautista jumping ship from Ducati, to the factory-backed Honda squad.

That news comes along with the rumor that Honda will have a new superbike for the 2020 model year, which is something we have seen speculated about for some time.

It is a busy schedule for the MotoGP teams since coming back from their all-too-brief summer break. After back-to-back weekends at Brno and Spielberg, five teams headed to Misano, for a private test this weekend.

For Ducati (the only team to issue a press release after the test, the test was mainly about preparing for their second home race at Misano in three weeks’ time. Misano is a huge race for Ducati, and a good result there is an absolute necessity.

If the times released by Ducati are accurate, then a good result is almost assured: Jorge Lorenzo lapped at just about the circuit pole record, while Andrea Dovizioso was six tenths slower than his teammate.