Redding: 'Fantastic to be coming to BSB'

It's official: Scott Redding will leave MotoGP and switch to the British Superbike Championship in 2019.

As rumoured, the Englishman - title runner-up in the 2013 Moto2 World Championship before racing with Gresini Honda, Marc VDS Honda, Pramac Ducati and now Aprilia in the premier-class - will join the multi-title winning PBM Ducati team to race the new Panigale V4.

Redding: 'Fantastic to be coming to BSB'

It's official: Scott Redding will leave MotoGP and switch to the British Superbike Championship in 2019.

As rumoured, the Englishman - title runner-up in the 2013 Moto2 World Championship before racing with Gresini Honda, Marc VDS Honda, Pramac Ducati and now Aprilia in the premier-class - will join the multi-title winning PBM Ducati team to race the new Panigale V4.

Redding, 25, lost his Aprilia seat to Andrea Iannone for 2019 after only a handful of rides on the RS-GP. It was soon clear there were no alternative MotoGP options, leaving Redding to weigh up a switch to World or British Superbike, or a return to Moto2.

The first whispers of a Redding-PBM deal emerged during the July summer break, Redding confirming the discussions to Crash.net at Brno, when he also admitted to concerns over safety at some of the British venues.

However, Redding now has his sights set on 'showing what he can do' with the most successful team in British Superbike.

"It’s fantastic to be coming to BSB," said Redding, who spent two seasons on a V4-powered Ducati Desmosedici at Pramac.

"It’s a championship I’ve never raced in and learning the circuits is very much part of the challenge which I’m looking forward to.

"This is very exciting for me with a very competitive bike and the most successful team and I’m here to show what I can do.

“We will make the right preparations and I’m delighted the first round will be at Silverstone where I have great memories.

"MotoGP is tough and without the correct packages it’s hard to win, but BSB is [also] at such a high level, I want to prove I’m capable of winning.

"It’s also a new experience and very important that I can race in front of my loyal fans in the UK more regularly.”

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Redding was supported by team boss Paul Bird early in his career, while BSB will have been keen to sign a big-name star to replace the departing Leon Haslam and Jake Dixon, plus doubts over Shane Byrne's fitness.

Paul Bird said: “Scott's a quality rider, as is anyone who can win at Grand Prix and we are confident he will be a title fighter in BSB next season."

Redding made an instant impact in his rookie 2008 world championship year by winning his home British 125cc Grand Prix as a 15-year-old.

Often hampered by his size (1.85m/75kg), Redding went on to claim three further wins in the Moto2 class and two (wet weather) podiums in MotoGP. In total, Redding has stood on a grand prix podium 18 times.

Any chance of a 2019 Aprilia test and MotoGP wild-card role looked to have been lost when a frustrated Redding publicly criticised the technical issues he was suffering with the bike after Austria.

Countryman Bradley Smith has since been confirmed for that job, with Cal Crutchlow the UK's only full-time MotoGP representative in 2019.

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