The only question that everyone is asking at the moment is ‘ Will he be completing the year with MGM Bonovo Racing Team in World Superbikes’
But before we get around to getting his answer on that, we talked about his recent field trip up north to the Scottish circuit, Knockhill. At round 3 of the Championship, Hager PBM Ducati rider Glenn Irwin suffered a nasty crash which saw the Irishman with injuries, namely fractures to his hip socket and pelvis, injuries that Glenn describes as “ Championship Ending”. The team later announced that they would have a stand in rider while he recovers and although speculated and rumoured, it wasn’t confirmed till the week of Round 4 that it was indeed Scott Redding returning to the PBM team, a team with which he won the 2019 British Superbike Championship.
Speaking about stepping in and racing in not only challenging weather conditions, but jumping on a bike without traction control, something that Scott utilises in the World’s Championship. With zero testing on the bike Scott had this to say “It was a nice weekend, a lot of smiles, a lot of people happy to see me. I had a good weekend, and it was fun. It was a tall order to do better than what I could do, It wasn’t easy from FP1 till the last race but it’s part of the game and you can’t change the weather – but it was fun, and it made me realise that’s what I need when I’m riding”
It’s no secret that that Scott and the team are at a disadvantage due to lack of testing, the Ducati is new to the team and without a robust testing programme, you’re already on the back foot when you arrive to race. Scott has also been very clear that he has no intentions of paying to race after this season. I asked Scott the very direct question of what he thinks his 2026 plans will be and this is what he had to say “My ideal is to stay here [World Superbikes], but there is no money here and I am not going to pay to race. I have a kid to raise, a family to feed and I am not doing it for nothing or pay to be here. We are entertaining people, but we are not being paid, I think it’s a joke. My mechanics currently earn more money than I do, they do an amazing job, but they are not risking their life and this really does upset me.”
“It’s what I have done this year [ pay for a ride] and I should have stuck to my guns, I have never paid to ride except this one year when I went to the Spanish Championship and I should have never ever done it again, but that was my call. I felt like I could get unlocked and get the opportunity to step up, but what I didn’t take into consideration was the team might not be correct, the sponsors not paying and we don’t test. I just didn’t put all that into perspective and I just thought that it was all going to work, which is the only thing I could do really. But it hasn’t worked out like that, I don’t think that I have a lot of interest from people [WorldSBK Teams], because my results have been average, everyone expected the Phillip Island Scott to be there, me too – so I need to see. The satellite teams here are not really paying that much, they do pay – but by the time you take out your race insurance, tax, travel you’re left with not a lot.”
It would be fair to say that in pre season we saw a buoyant Scott Redding, one filled with hope and drive that being on the Ducati with the team he had ridden with in 2024 and fuelled by the success of their first outing in Australia. But as the season has progressed, we now see a slightly less enthusiastic Scott, partly frustrated by the teams lack of testing, which Scott feels has been an issue for the European side of the Championship.
“I put by 5% that this year wouldn’t work and that 5% has grown, which is shame – but I was motivated more than ever, and I believed that I had the right people around me to do it. The problem is that it’s a new bike for the team and kind of a new bike to me because its all moved on and we need testing, and I just didn’t get enough testing. I got two half days at the beginning of the year, the reason we did good at Philip Island is because everyone was on the same page, we all got the same amount of testing on a track we all don’t really ride, and I was there – but I knew when we came back to Europe that my set up was not right, I begged to go testing and it just didn’t happen, and I have been on the back foot ever since. And that’s the problem, you are riding against world class riders, phenomenal riders – the grid is so stacked with talented riders and the racing this year is so close that you can’t afford to give away a thousandth let alone a couple of tenths, and I just haven’t been testing”
It has been well reported via other media outlets that the team has potential money and or sponsor issues. Superbike News made reference to this on its social media channels in early May 2025 and immediately had a rebuttal from Michael Galinski, MGM Bonovo Racing Team owner :
“The MGM Bonovo Team always fulfils its obligations, despite what the press claims otherwise. Official tests took place this year in Jerez, Portugal and Phillip Island. Should Scott return to BSB in 2026, we wish him all the best! This season, we’re racing in WSBK; nothing has changed in that regard. Team management will decide when, where, how and whether to test. We’re looking forward to the rest of the season”
But Scott has a different opinion to the lack of team testing “ Without testing you can’t to do races, and there is a lot of pressure, the sponsors want results and I’m left sitting there. It’s unfortunate really, as I felt like we had the potential but when the factory guys are testing and they are improving the electronics, the riders and the bike, and I’m sat home, I just getting left behind. It’s like a pro cyclist not training, what do you expect when he turns up to the tour – results? Well it isn’t going to happen, and that is my situation. I am doing the best results I can. When everyone else has done two days at Misano and I have been sat at home, we go out in Free Practice 1 and they are all on lap records pace while I’m left to figure it out. We just can’t do that anymore, ten years ago maybe, but now its optimal performance and if you’re not – you’re kinda wasting your time a bit”
Speaking with Scott you can hear the emotion and frustration in his voice, he wants to be given the equal opportunity to showcase what he can achieve but is almost doing it at the moment with one hand tied behind his back – and as a racer, it’s a hard place to be positioned.
So, we moved on to the inevitable question of future plans and the speculation of more rounds in the British Championship with Hager PBM Ducati. Scott was very quick to reaffirm that his overriding ‘want’ is to stay in WorldSBK, this season and beyond. “I have a contract here for this season and as far as I know, I’ll be at the next round – Balaton Park. If this [ the team] all decides to close down, then yes, I’ll be at Brands Hatch for PBM Ducati, but I am here until I am told otherwise”
Future Redding Racer
Could we see the next generation of redding on the track sometime in the future.. Scott shared with us that his son absolutely loves bikes and loves being at the track “ He is nearly 10 months now and any bike he sees he locks eyes onto it, he loves warming up the bikes and watching them on track – I love having him here with me. We love spending time in the garden with him riding his little quad and he is happy as larry”
Watch that space!
Scott finished 9th in Free Practice 1, 7th in Free Practice 2 and Qualified 17th
