After finishing sixth on day two in the combined times of testing as the highest placed Ducati rider, Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) would have thought he was close to the front coming into the curtain-raising event of the 2020 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season. He reaffirmed his pace at Phillip Island by finishing fastest in both Free Practice sessions on the opening day of track action.

It was a day of mixed conditions for all riders on the grid. The opening practice session started off wet and gradually dried out, although some parts of the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit did remain wet. The second session was completely dry throughout, allowing riders some valuable dry track time ahead of the weekend.

Speaking after both sessions had concluded, Redding said: “I felt quite good in the morning. I had to work a little bit in the wet conditions because I’m still quite new to these tyres in the rain, but now I’m starting to get more confident [the] more times I ride with different tracks, so [it] was quite good. Then, in the afternoon, we did a longer run for myself and the team to understand the bike, which was good, and then at the end, it made me feel even better again for pushing for a lap time. I didn’t really see anybody, I just made lots of laps. But that’s the work we need to do to be ready for the first race on Saturday.”

Riding for a team that won all three races in 2019 at Phillip Island and both races of 2018, Redding will be delighted to have topped the opening two sessions Down Under. With the chasing pack still close behind and the top 12 riders in contention, plus all five manufacturers in the top seven, Phillip Island is sure to serve up a superb opening weekend of the season.

You can catch the action from the 2020 WorldSBK season with the WorldSBK VideoPass!