Redding seals British Superbike crown in season finale
Ex-MotoGP rider Scott Redding has become British Superbike champion at his first attempt, sealing the 2019 crown in the Brands Hatch triple-header finale.
Scott Redding, Paul Bird Motorsport
Scott Redding
Redding had joined the Be Wiser Ducati BSB team following the conclusion of a five-year stint in grand prix racing's premier class, during which he scored two podiums.
He bagged seven wins during the 2019 BSB 'regular season', but trailed teammate Josh Brookes in the title race after the points were reset ahead of the Assen round under the series' play-off like 'Showdown' format.
Redding and Brookes were joined in the Showdown field by Tommy Bridewell, Danny Buchan, Tarran Mackenzie and Peter Hickman, with the six intended to fight it out for the title over the seven remaining races.
But Redding won both races at Assen and completed a double at Donington, too, arriving at Brands with a 28-point lead over Brookes.
This was cut to 19 points when Brookes won the opening race of the weekend, although Redding recovered to third after a qualifying issue consigned him to ninth on the grid.
A crash for Luke Mossey that effectively split the field into two groups threatened his chances of challenging for the podium, but the race was then red-flagged for another crash, and the restart provided Redding opportunity to fight through the pack.
Brookes won again in Race 2 but Redding minimised his losses by taking a close second, keeping a 14-point lead ahead of the final race of the season.
All Redding needed was a top five result and although he had a shaky start with him dropping to fifth and Brookes taking the lead, Redding was soon able to recover.
With Bridewell challenging Brookes, Redding quickly moved up to third and the trio eventually finished the race in the same order.
The 2019 campaign will be Redding's sole season in BSB, as he has already signed a deal to race for the Ducati works team in World Superbike as Alvaro Bautista's replacement.
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