Redding and Misano redemption: a missed opportunity in 2015 still hurts

For Scott Redding, Misano is nothing new. Or rather, the Englishman has already raced in Emilia Romagna, but never with a Superbike. In fact, the factory Ducati Aruba rider has ridden the 125 Grand Prix, the Moto2 with Honda engine, and two different MotoGP bikes around the Italian circuit.

And he has scored strong results in the top class. In 2015, the then Marc VDS rider achieved a third-place finish behind Marc Marquez and Bradley Smith.

The Belgian team’s four-cylinder satellite machine missed out on the top step that day, and Scott still remembers it well: “I wanted to win of course, but I couldn’t do it. Do you know why? A bad rear tyre choice. The weather kept changing which put us in difficulty. I didn’t want to trust in the intermediate, which turned out to be effective".

Brands Hatch like Misano? In some ways, yes

Redding continues to recount what went on that weekend in the world championship: “I had really strong pace, good enough for a win I reckon. So it was a pity about that poor choice. I found myself in a similar situation at Brands Hatch during the 2019 BSB championship".

A national championship that number 45 won: "The straight is anything but straight there. And it’s not flat either. It was raining, not a lot but enough to cause trickles of water to run from left to right, from the central grandstand to the pitwall. I panicked, choosing the right tyre was a gamble”.

In the end, the Ducati rider went with the "safe bet". More or less: "No intermediate, but a good rain tyre. It was just a pity it stopped raining, and that was it. I just did what I could. That day in England and the Misano MotoGP podium are two similar memories for me".

At the Marco Simoncelli, Scott plays on home turf

With Imola not on the calendar, the Misano event is the only Ducati home round. The red bikes are heading there to win, and rightly so. And Scott rides for an Italian team, with an Italian bike, with many fans awaiting him...

...yes, we can say that Redding is heading into a round where he can feel at home, at least in terms of the setting. The fans (also) await the British bulldog, who is keen to bite Johnny Rea. The Italian sun will shine on the inevitable duel, in which Scott will do all he can to make up for that Sunday in 2015.

And if it rains, who knows. We hope for Scott that he’s able to decide on which Pirellis to mount. The “dry bet” at Aragon definitely paid off, although those on intermediates were also strong. The memory of the 2015 MotoGP and that third place finish is great, but a win would taste even better.

Translated by Heather Watson

SBK Misano: Rea and the Italians ready to shine in front of the fans