British star Scott Redding (MGM BONOVO Racing) return to the Ducati Panigale V4 R for the first time since 2021 on Day 1 at the Jerez test for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship and was immediately on the pace. He claimed third place and lapped just over half-a-second down on pacesetter Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) as he got back up to speed on the machinery, he claimed 12 WorldSBK wins on between 2020 and 2021.

REDDING’S DAY: fast and consistent

The English rider finished the day in P3 as in his last lap of the day he recorded a blistering 1’39.280 run on the SCQ tyre, pushing Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) to fourth place. This run was only topped by Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven), who beat it by less than a hundredth of a second, and Riders’ Champion runner-up Nicolo Bulega. Redding’s familiarity with the Panigale V4R was on clear display as while these pre-season tests are by no means just a test of who can set the fastest lap, Redding was among the top 10 throughout the day. Riding in stints between two and eight laps, Redding was working to gain confidence atop his Panigale V4 R after three years atop a BMW M 1000 RR. According to his team, their goal was to work on the bike’s balance and suspension ahead of Phillip Island and Round 1 of the WorldSBK season on February 21^st.ç

Reviewing his day, Redding said: “My goal was try to go P1 on my first day… it’s a little bit ambitious, but you’ve got to aim high! I also had a yellow flag on my best lap so I lost a little bit of time. In general, to be top three on my first day and all of these guys have tested I think two times two days or three days since the end of the season; it was hard to get up to speed initially but when I found my rhythm and relaxed a little bit, I could build. My best lap was on the SCQ and then I did s 1’40 with the race tyre.”

“TODAY ENDED UP BEING A REALLY GOOD DAY” – Redding on his comeback

Redding began his WorldSBK career with Ducati, making his debut in 2020 and instantly fighting for the title. That season, Redding won five races and was featured in the podium a total of 14 times. Finishing 2020 as runner up to the Riders’ Champion, he continued to grow in his sophomore season in 2021, winning a career-high seven races and finishing in the rostrum a career-high 23 times. He moved to ROKiT BMW and competed with them for the 2022 and 2023 seasons  before in 2024 making his move to BONOVO Action BMW, which this offseason has transitioned to using a Ducati bike, now operating as MGM BONOVO Racing.

On his return to Ducati machinery, the #45 said: “The first day’s been really amazing. I wasn’t able to ride the bike at the end of the year, so I was realty eager. I finally got that feeling back on my fingertips. Today was worth waiting for! Today ended up being a really good day and a great start for me and the team.”

GALINSKI ALL SMILES: Team Manager Galinski sounds off on Redding’s return results

Redding’s performance in Jerez’s day one test seems to have helped not only his team’s confidence, but his own. Team Manager Michael Galinski was pleased with the pace set by the Englishman however stressed how the bike still has more they can get out of it.

““It was better than I expected but the first day was a lot of work!” said Galinski. “We worked on the balance of the bike for Scott, and the suspension and everything to give him a bike that he can feel. It was better than I expected but the first day was a lot of work!

Watch Redding’s Ducati comeback year using the WorldSBK VideoPass!