After arguably his worst weekend in World Superbikes in Catalunya, Redding knows he must consider his opportunities for 2024

Even though we are only four rounds into the 2023 World Superbike season one of the series’ biggest names is already weighing up his options for the 2024 season.

Former MotoGP rider and a runner up in the World Superbike Championship, Scott Redding, has struggled so far in 2023. After 12 races Redding finds himself at a low of 15th place in the Championship with only 34 points to his name. The factory BMW rider only has a best race finish of 7th place this season and is yet to even get close to a podium finish.

The 2023 season has not been what Redding expected from BMW and the new M 1000 RR. Currently Redding is the second highest BMW in the Championship as he is five points behind satellite BMW rider, Garrett Gerloff.

Redding had this to say when asked about his future in World Superbikes: “I have to consider my options and see what’s available. I have to see what we can do for BMW in the future if I am to stay there.”

“I want to be fighting at the front for podiums and winning races but last year and this year, it’s not showing anything in that direction. It’s hard for me to wait; I know the guys are working hard. There’s a lot happening back at BMW but finding a solution is proving difficult.”

“We will see, but there aren’t a lot of other doors open so we need to keep our head down and try to improve the package. When you go testing, you might have an item and it changes everything, but at the moment, we have a lot of items but not a lot improvement. It’s part of the game.”

If Redding is to leave the German manufacturer come the end of 2023, the question is where could he end up. The 30-year-old will not find himself back in MotoGP again so his best choice is to remain on the World Superbike grid. Currently only two riders in World Superbikes have contracts for 2024, including Jonathan Rea and Alvaro Bautista who have signed for factory Kawasaki and Ducati.

Where could Redding end up in 2024?

With many other seats available for Redding as of currently it is clear he will aim for a factory World Superbike ride. It is almost certain that he will not return to Ducati after how things ended in 2021, so that leaves Kawasaki, Honda and Yamaha.

The Kawasaki Racing Team only have one bike left where Rea has signed on for the 2024 season, where Lowes is currently 9th in the Championship Kawasaki could look to replace him. Redding and Rea have also appeared to get on in the past so they could work well together in what appears to be the latter years of Reas World Superbike career.

Honda have struggled so far in 2023 but they have shown more promise than BMW have. The current Honda riders of Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge have had no rumours surrounding them yet in 2023. However, neither have contracts for the 2024 season, which leaves two doors open for Redding. Team HRC have shown promise in testing and a top level rider like Redding could be exactly what HRC need.

Finally, there is Yamaha. This seems the most unlikely due to Yamaha’s current talent pool in WorldSBK with the likes of Toprak Razgatlioglu, Andrea Locatelli, Remy Gardner, Dominique Aegerter, Lorenzo Baldassari and Bradley Ray in Yamaha’s ranks. Even if Razgatlioglu did leave Yamaha they would most likely replace him from within their ranks, leaving Redding out in the cold.

The best option for Redding would be to join the Kawasaki Racing Team and partner Rea, if the opportunity is presented to him. The bike has been a handful in 2023, but it has made progress in recent rounds and is a massive upgrade to the BMW Redding is currently on.

Images from WorldSBK.com