Scott Reading shed light from his perspective on Glenn Irwin’s surprise surprise from PBM Ducati.
The British Superbike Championship team never officially confirmed the intended plan for Irwin when he returned from his injury.
Redding was initially a temporary replacement, but was confirmed to stay for the rest of the season, but PBM Ducati only had one bike.
That problem was solved in a surprising way when Irwin and PBM Ducati suddenly split up and took part in a Nitrus race racing at Yamaha.
However, Redding is the first to confirm PBM Ducati’s plans to run the two bikes. At least as he expected –
“I thought I’d come here with Glenn,” Reading told TNT Sports last weekend at Thruxton.
“Then I heard the news that Glenn wasn’t with me, and I’m sure he’ll be here.
“To be honest, that was a bit of a shock to me. But I’m just doing what I can…
“We still talk a lot, he said he wasn’t against me or him.
“This is healthy because you will never ride from an injured man, and I made it clear.
“But he wanted to come back, but he’s coming back!”
Glenn Irwin and Jordan Bird have said about the split of BSB
Glenn Iunin
The conflict that led to Irwin and PBM Ducati’s breakup company focused on when to return to the race after undergoing pelvic surgery.
The crash on Snetterton initially appeared to dominate Irwin for the long term, but he quickly announced plans to race soon.
Jordan Bird told TNT Sports:
“It felt more comfortable than asking Glenn to wait a few rounds to return to full fitness.
“My concern was that he was competitively worthy of racing and crashing.
“He saw that he was ready to go. We respected that. He decided it was time to go elsewhere and we stand by that decision.
“He has to take care of himself, his family and his future.
“Our full focus is now on Scott.”
“It’s clear that I was there wasn’t ideal for anyone,” Irwin said while wearing the Yamaha leather.
“I started to see a bit of what was going on. I had a joke about riding a Yamaha on Thruxton. It wasn’t in the pipeline so I said, ‘Good’.
“As things develop, every cloud has a silver lining. As it became clear, I wasn’t racing with my original plans, so this opportunity came to life.
“Yes, it’s very refreshing.”
Reading won the race with PBM Ducati’s brand hatch in Irwin’s absence.
Last weekend at Thruxton he finished 11th, 7th and 8th on a track where Yamaha always enjoys more than Ducati.
Irwin was 16, 15, 17 in his first race round after Yamaha’s debut and surgery.