WorldSBK, air of crisis in Redding’s garage: is a reset required?

We’re only four rounds into the 2021 Superbike championship but we already have some clues as to how the season might continue. And if we ignore the standouts, which included title contender Toprak Razgatlioglu of course, those who are struggling right now clearly include Scott Redding, who faces what is the toughest moment of his Superbike career to date.

And the numbers speak for themselves. After the first four rounds of 2020, Redding’s debut SBK season, Scott already had 179 points in the bag, the result of three wins and a total of nine podiums, which would still place him third in the championship right now, but just four points from the leader. Instead, during this 2021 season, he currently has 66 points to make up, having scored 62 less than this time last season thanks to two wins and just three podiums.

Wrong decisions and pressure

The hard facts come with their reasons of course. Scott started the season with the aim of stopping Jonathan Rea in what should have been the year of his consecration, following a rookie 2020 season in which he got to grips with the category. But these expectations have perhaps worked against the number 45 rider, who has already committed more mistakes than he did last year.

In addition to understandable mistakes on track (see Rea), like the Race 2 crash at Estoril while chasing the champion, or the Race 1 crash at a damp Donington, there have also been some errors in strategy, Scott’s race twice having come to an end before it even began. We’re talking about the Aragon and Donington Superpole Races, where an incorrect tyre choice saw him score just two points out of a possible 24.

Added to all this is a speed that doesn’t seem to have podium potential, at least during the last two rounds. At Misano, Scott was left watching as Razgatlioglu, Rea and particularly Rinaldi broke away, while a fourth place finish in race 2 at his home track was not enough to turn a disappointing weekend around.

If we consider the causes, pressure may well be one, but there are at least two more. The first is technical, and has to do with the difficulties Scott is experiencing aboard the bike. The Englishman complains that his machine is worse than the 2020 version, or at least less easy and less inclined to forgive any mistakes, in contract to the improvement seen with his rivals' bikes. The second factor has to do with morale, and can only have to do with Rinaldi. The Italian’s presence and recent wins in Italy have taken some of the attention away from Redding, his role as captain perhaps in the balance.

And now?

At this point, just four rounds into a thirteen-round championship, the rider still has time to turn things around but there is a risk he is missing something else entirely. In recent races, Scott has looked to be slightly out of focus, perhaps due to the aforementioned pressure, with the subsequent errors that, for now, rule him out of the title fight almost entirely.

Needless to say that he needs to step it up a gear, mentally and also in terms of his results. This two-week break could help him to reset the mind and focus all his energies on his right wrist, with the aim of remaining a serious title contender. And then he needs to look to the future, but that’s another story.

Translated by Heather Watson

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