TEAM-MATE WORLD SUPERBIKES
The Facts
“It’s been interesting, I guess. We have had a few ‘moments’ and ‘discussions’ between us, where perhaps we’ve not seen eye to eye, but that’s mainly through the ‘he said, she said’ of the media. We don’t really communicate in the garage. He has his team and I have mine, and we do our own thing, but we will speak if we need to. But we don’t send each other texts or WhatsApp messages or do any socialising together, which suits us both.
“A couple of years ago we didn’t get on at all; we had a pretty major beef, but when I was racing in Philip Island at the back end of 2018, and he’d just finished the BSB season, we met up knowing we were going to be PBM team-mates and we both agreed to put that stuff in the past behind us. We are both professionals and that’s the way it’s been all season, but having a very competitive team-mate is hard.
“He’s beaten me, and I’ve beaten him this season, and we usually congratulate each other, but having said that, I still think he found it hard to accept getting beaten by me. Maybe because he’s older and has more experience in BSB and being beaten by a younger, less experienced rider was hard to take, I don’t know, but in all fairness, it’s been ok, and we just get on with it.
“I’m not here to make friends or enemies, my only goal this year was to win the championship and that’s what we’ve done.”
With a mid-season deal to join the factory Ducati team in World Superbikes in 2020 coming his way during the season, it meant Redding’s was a single year tenure in BSB, so how will next year pan out?
“Who knows? I had an option to remain in BSB with Birdy and that was the original plan, but when an offer from a factory team on a bike capable of winning a World Championship comes along, you can’t turn those opportunities down. Whether I’d wanted to stay in BSB or not, I simply couldn’t refuse this, and Paul understood that.
“My goal is, and always has been to be a World Champion and with Ducati next year, that is a real possibility to win the World Superbike Championship. I’d be brain-dead to turn it down.”
THIS MONTH I HAVE MOSTLY BEEN… Saying goodbye.
How on earth have we already got to the end of 2019? I mean, even though I’ve done thousands of miles on my beloved ZX-6R, it still just doesn’t quite feel like enough. See, when we first nicked one of these beauties from Kawasaki and rode it all the way down to Spain in January, I never thought I’d end up falling in love; yet here we are, near enough a year down the line wishing I could keep it.
And you know why? Because the ZX-6R has been the perfect little weapon for me. I absolutely love a Sunday rip, and it’s just so much fun. I love taking the other half for a ride, and it’s surprisingly good for a pillion. I even love big ol’ journeys, and the ZX-6R is surprisingly comfy, and easily capable for a 400+ mile day, with ease.
Over the course of the year, not one thing has let me down either; it genuinely hasn’t missed a beat, and hasn’t required any fixing or balls-out maintenance of any kind, but then again, that’s what we like to expect from a new bike these days.
Even so, it’s taken some real hard riding, has been on track and has seen enough knee-skids to last it a lifetime; I mean, if you’re in the market for a new sportsbike on a budget, I really don’t think you can go anywhere else. The ZX-6R has been a class act, and with that big ol’ Austin Racing can, and a set of Pirellis thrown on, it really was absolutely spot on. To be honest, give it heated grips and cruise control, and it would be damn near perfect.
But then again, all good things must come to an end, and by the time you read this the Ninja will be back at Kawasaki HQ. It’s a sad time, but it doesn’t last for long. I’m just hoping my weapon for next year will be just as delightful as this…