‘Championship too far away’ for Redding after race one crash

Scott Redding’s attempts of converting a first WorldSBK pole of 2021 into a win lasted just one corner after crashing in race one at San Juan.

After losing first place to eventual race winner Toprak Razgatlioglu off the start, Redding then came under pressure from Jonathan Rea heading into turn one. 

The Ducati rider managed to hold off the six-time champion for a moment, however, Redding lost the rear as he applied the throttle on corner exit. 

Redding, who has only been bettered by Razgatlioglu in terms of consistent race pace throughout the weekend thus far, remounted before going on to demonstrate that potential by coming from last to finish ninth. 

The crash and subsequent lost points has relegated Redding from 54 to 72 points from series leader Razgatlioglu, a gap that’s put ‘the championship too far away’ in the former MotoGP rider’s opinion. 

Speaking after the race, Redding added: "I need to check the crash because I don’t think I was offline. 

"Toprak was further away (from apex) than me. I touched the throttle and the rear just came round really fast, was really unexpected. 

"Nothing to say, nothing to do. I just picked the bike up and got my head down to try and come back through. 

"That was all I could do to be honest. The championship is too far away now, that’s out the window, so every race is just a battle for the win."