Scott Redding is to ride for Pramac Ducati in 2016. The Pramac squad announced today that the British rider will be riding alongside Danilo Petrucci on board a Ducati Desmosedici GP15.
The news means that Redding is to leave the Marc VDS squad, who had moved up to MotoGP to form a team around the English rider.
Redding never gelled with the Honda RC213V that he has been racing this year, as he found it difficult to get any feeling with the bike. He only occasionally showed flashes of his potential, struggling outside of the top ten for most of the season.
Redding had made no secret of his desire to leave. At Assen, he told reporters of his regrets about choosing the Honda, letting slip that he was keeping an eye on the Pramac team, and the performance of the bike.
Redding had a test with Ducati in 2012, and had come away enthusiastic about the bike, and working with Ducati. Ducati were also very positive about Redding, and were keen to get him inside the factory’s orbit.
That commitment is what attracted Redding to the Pramac ride. On the Honda, Redding has felt like just another rider for HRC, given no special help to try to solve his problems.
Ducati have shown him support, and the Italian factory will be very closely involved with Redding and his crew. Though the deal announced is only for 2016, it is likely to be the first step in a longer term relationship with Redding.
Who takes Redding’s spot at Marc VDS is still undecided. The obvious choice would be reigning Moto2 world champion Tito Rabat. But that deal is not as simple to put together as the team had hoped.
There is still some disagreement over the terms under which the reigning Moto2 world champion will ride for the team, with talks ongoing about the situation.
Photo: © 2015 Tony Goldsmith / www.tonygoldsmith.net – All Rights Reserved
This article was originally published on MotoMatters, and is republished here on Asphalt & Rubber with permission by the author.
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