Scott Redding continued build momentum behind his bid clinch the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at the first time of asking after notching up his fourth win of the year with an eye-catching performance at Knockhill.
Following on from his triple success at Donington Park, one of the few BSB venues he has raced at previously, Redding has nonetheless demonstrated a deft ability to get to grips with unfamiliar circuits as shown by his pole position on his first visit to Brands Hatch .
Even so, Knockhill’s tight turns and compact nature should have been Redding’s biggest challenge of the year to date but the ex-MotoGP rider was on the pace from the opening session and only qualified down the order in 15th due to wet conditions that hampered each of the Ducati entries.
However, the mid-pack start did give Redding the flip side of an opportunity to show his racing mettle by charging through the ranks, defying dampness off line to haul himself all the way to second place at the chequered flag.
Earning him the reward of pole position for race two, Redding was engaged in a dice with Danny Buchan before the Kawasaki rider fell and opened up the way for the Be Wiser PBM Ducati rider to cruise home for a fourth win of the year.
Also lifting him back to the head of the BSB standings, his lucrative weekend means Redding also now leads the way in terms of podium credits with 25 ‘points’ to Josh Brookes’ 20 and Tommy Bridewell’s 13.
“I knew I had the pace in the dry and went quicker in morning warm-up than I had done all weekend and for the first race, slick tyres were the only real option.
“It was difficult to overtake as the dry line was only about a metre wide and it was very slippery if you went off it, so I just tried to pick them off one by one and not make any mistakes. It was a great race and a great result having started so far back.
“Danny was quick in both the wet and dry so I didn’t necessarily want to lead the second race as I felt I could have learnt a lot sitting behind him. When he came by me, I sat behind him, but we changed places a few times and when he went down, I picked up my pace again.
“People were wondering if I could master the British circuits but although we still have a long way to go, it’s been case of so far, so good.”
The result would have been the perfect preparation for the proposed WorldSBK wild-card Paul Bird Motorsport had intended to make with Redding and Brookes at Donington Park this weekend, only for the entry to be pulled to allow the riders to focus on their title challenges.
