01/08/22

• Third place for Scott Redding with his BMW M 1000 RR in WorldSBK race one at Autodrom Most.
• Strong performance also underlined in other races.
• Loris Baz with two eleventh-place finishes, Peter Hickman in the points in second race.

 
Most. Scott Redding (GBR) has followed up his third place in the Superpole race at Donington Park (GBR) by securing a podium finish with his BMW M 1000 RR in a main race. Redding was consistently involved at the front in race one at Most (CZE), giving BMW Motorrad Motorsport and the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team reason to celebrate by claiming third place after 22 laps. Redding underlined this strong performance by securing fourth place in race two on Sunday. Most hosted the sixth round of the FIM Superbike World Championship 2022 (WorldSBK).
 
The free practice sessions on Friday showed that Redding was producing the pace on the BMW M 1000 RR at Most as well. The British rider recorded the second-fastest time of the day. He finished seventh in a hotly-contested Superpole on Saturday morning, missing out on the top three by just one-tenth of a second.
 
The only way was up for Redding from this grid position. He played a key role in a thrilling battle between the leaders, holding on to second place for some time. He finally dropped back one place in the closing stage but finished third to secure his first podium of the season in a main race. In the Superpole race on Sunday morning, Redding fell back some way in the opening stage but battled back to finish eighth in the ten-lap sprint race. That was his starting position for race two and he was once again battling with the leading group. Redding was forced to take an emergency exit on lap six, which cost him some time and knocked him back into fifth position. He was, however, able to regain fourth spot and maintained that position to the finish line.
 
In the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team, Loris Baz (FRA) made a good start the weekend as he recorded the sixth-fastest time on Friday. He finished eleventh in the Superpole, in race one and in the Superpole race. However, he retired early from a top ten position in race two after taking a tumble on lap five. His team-mate Eugene Laverty (IRL) was still struggling with functional impairment in his injured right arm at Most. He started from 20th on the grid, finishing 19th in race one and 18th in the Superpole race. On Sunday afternoon, Laverty then decided that the risk to ride with the weakened arm would be too big and did not take part in race two.
 
Peter Hickman (GBR), replacing the injured Michael van der Mark (NED) for the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team at Most, improved in each session. He finished 22nd in the first race after being pushed out in the opening laps and losing a substantial amount of time. He crossed the line in 19th place in the Superpole race and scored two points for finishing 14th in race two.
 
The WorldSBK is now taking a summer break for the next few weeks. The seventh race event of the season will take place from 9th to 11th September at Magny-Cours (FRA).

“Overall, that was really very positive weekend. It was a stable and solid weekend from FP1 to the end of race two. Of course, it was a shame that we were just one tenth of a second off in the Superpole yesterday. That would have got us third place on the grid. Naturally, we were hoping that our pace would help us finish higher up. However, Scott gave a superb performance to turn seventh on the grid into a podium, which was fantastic. In today’s Superpole race, we made a good start but unfortunately got caught up in the chaos and fell back a long way, but Scott delivered a virtuoso performance to put the bike in eighth place. The start of race two was clearly better. We had really stable racing pace. It wasn’t enough for the podium, but we are very pleased with the fourth place. There were also two points for Hicky. Unfortunately, Loris tumbled out of race two at the end of a good, solid weekend. I wish that Eugene gets well soon. Despite the minor issues, it was a positive weekend that confirmed the progress made at Donington – especially with the podium on Saturday. We now have a long summer break, but there is still plenty of work to do. More testing will take place. We are certainly looking forward to Magny-Cours.”

“The weekend was really good. It’s good that we carry the progress from Donington. That was a big question mark and we did that here. It was great to get the first podium in a long race. This is important for me and the team. In the Superpole race, we made a small mistake with the tyre. We went with the Zero, but it was on the limit and the first corner was a disaster, but we did good to come back and for the last race this afternoon I felt good. I had a very good start. There were some connections with riders which made me lose the front group a little. The pace was not bad, but the first three guys had a bit more pace than me, but I’m happy with the progress and this is what I’m looking for the second part of this season.”