‘It was sink or swim after Aragon, was questioning my decision a lot’ - Redding

After narrowly missing out on a first WorldSBK podium of 2022 in race one - finished fourth - Redding went one better during the 10-lap Superpole race after getting the better of Alvaro Bautista and Alex Lowes. 

In a repeat of Saturday’s opening race, Redding had to fend off Lowes during the closing stages of the Superpole race, this time doing enough to get back ahead of the Kawasaki rider on the penultimate lap [turn one], who instead lost out on fourth to Bautista. 

For Redding, the entire weekend was a step forward as small tweaks and new components such as an updated swingarm proved to be effective, although nothing should be taken away from Redding who was also at his very best. 

Managing to stay with Rea during qualifying before looking like a rider who could challenge the top three during the early stages of race two, signs were there that Redding and BMW could be podium threats for the remainder of the year, or at least several rounds.

But for that to happen ‘we can’t let off the gas’, claims the former British Superbike champion. 

"Ahh f******g hell! I had to fight for it again," said Redding after a hard-fought Superpole race. "It’s just good to get that [podium ticked] off. I know it’s not a full race distance but it’s a step. That’s the thing for me and we got in the top three. 

"It’s good for the environment within us, in the team. We see that we made that step and we did it in the race. Yeah it’s just good. That was a clean results weekend. 

"Okay, Alvaro [Bautista] crashed in the first race but that [Superpole race] was clean. No mixed conditions or crashes. That for me is important. If I had got a podium on Saturday it wouldn’t have been true because of the crash. 

"I like to get a podium when everyone is on their form and in the Superpole Race, everyone was on their form. I got tested at the end, so I’m happy it was just one lap to go when I had to fight a little bit. 

"It was a bit of a relief but also a motivation. I got hungry for more and that’s why you probably saw, in race two, I was there for the first half of the race because I thought I’d have a go and we can do this. 

"We are coming closer but we can’t let off the gas. We’ve got to keep working. Now we’re more or less there, I’m going to drive harder because we are almost there."

Aragon ‘was hard, I questioned my decision’, says the 2020 WorldSBK runner-up

While Donington proved to be the highlight of Redding and BMW’s season so far, it wasn’t that long ago that the former MotoGP rider was questioning whether he made the right move. 

A dreadful season-opener in Aragon saw Redding endure arguably his worst weekend as a professional racer - scoring one point from three races - as a lack of competitiveness and problems with the M 1000 RR led to the Brit showing early signs of frustration with BMW. 

But when faced with a situation of giving up or pulling through, Redding chose the latter: "To be honest, after Aragon it was hard. I was questioning my decision a lot. It was sink or swim; either you come together and fight to make it work or you close the book, and you go home for two years. 

"My feeling inside is that I will fight for it. Now we’re making progress and everyone’s getting together and understanding. 

"I don’t know the guys they worked with before but the way I work, I want to win. If I’m not winning, I’m going to put a lot of pressure on because I didn’t come here for anything else but to win."