The 2020 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship went down to the final round of the season as Scott Redding (Aruba.It Racing – Ducati) and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) battled it out to take the 2020 World Championship. Rea came out on top as he made even more history with his sixth consecutive title, but Redding has not been resting on his laurels as he looks to go one step further in 2021.

Those who follow Redding on Instagram would have seen the vast amount of cycling he has been doing over the winter, alongside training on a stock bike Ducati Panigale V4 S. The British rider has cycled across vast distances in America and Europe throughout the off-season, including riding up The Alps as he looks to extract every ounce of performance he can ahead of the new season.

Discussing his training, Redding said: “My preparation is to be World Champion, so I dedicate my life to that. It’s what I do. It’s something I’ve changed in the last couple of years, adapting my way of thinking and my approach to seasons – how I can be in the best shape possible. For me weight is a big thing, because I’m over the threshold to everyone else. I’d like to be at least in reaching distance to the other guys. So, I’m cycling a lot, I do some other training as well. Due to the situation we have, I haven’t been doing much motocross unfortunately. I just dedicate every day to be on the top step at the end of the 2021 season.”

His weight is something Redding mentioned throughout the 2020 season, particularly when it came to other riders being able to use the SCX tyre, designed for the Tissot Superpole Race, in the longer Race 1 and Race 2. Redding felt lighter riders, like 2021 teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi, had an advantage by being able to use the SCX tyre in the longer races.

He said: “It’s a good tyre to have for the Superpole Race because we can literally go all out, full gas, for ten laps. Smaller, lighter riders are able to use the SCX tyre for the full race distance of around 20 laps and a bigger ridder cannot use that tyre, so they have an advantage. There is no combined rider and bike weight limit here in WorldSBK which I think will be important to add in the future.”

While Redding will still need to contend with being a bigger rider when it comes to using the SCX tyre, the British rider will be hoping the riding across Europe, including a gruelling trip through the Alps, Redding will be hoping he will be in the best possible shape as the new season approaches. After a stunning rookie campaign where he claimed five wins and 14 podiums, will Redding be able to go a step further in 2021 and claimed the World Championship?

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