Redding will join Garrett Gerloff at BMW’s secondary WSBK squad in 2024, with the announcement coinciding with the news that Michael van der Mark will remain at the works outfit alongside new recruit Toprak Razgatlioglu.
Redding’s future at BMW had been in doubt ever since the German marque lured away 2021 champion Razgatlioglu to lead the development of its bike, having not found the kind of success it had hoped to achieve with the British rider.
Redding’s contract with BMW was due to expire at the end of the 2023 season and his constant criticism of the M1000RR bike is understood to have irked the company’s senior management.
However, the 30-year-old has now got a reprieve, with BMW electing to keep him within its fold for a third season, albeit by moving him to the Bonovo squad to make way for Razgatlioglu.
However, BMW will strengthen its alliance with what was previously a satellite team, promising Bonovo that it will receive “equal support in terms of material specification and technical support from the BMW Motorrad Motorsport development department” as its full-fledged factory team.
“Four great BMW Motorrad factory riders in our two strong BMW teams – with this new allocation, we are set up superbly for the WorldSBK season 2024,” said Markus Schramm, Director of BMW Motorrad.
“Scott Redding is a great racer and we appreciate that he is staying true to our BMW Motorrad World Superbike project by bringing his skills to bear in the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team.
“His experience, his speed, and his expertise in particular, will be a key component as we optimise our collective goals together with Garrett Gerloff and the whole team.
“The addition of Toprak Razgatlioglu allows us to distribute our factory riders perfectly across our two competitive teams. Together with Michael van der Mark in the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team, we have the ideal line-up for the overall project.”
A pair of fourth-place finishes at Donington Park and Most represent Redding’s best results so far in 2023, and he remains BMW’s highest-placed rider in the standings in 11th place on 108 points.
With the final three rounds to run, BMW is yet to finish on the podium this year, but it sits ahead of Honda in the manufacturers’ standings.
