Britain’s Scott Redding expects to be strong in the predicted hot conditions at this weekend’s Jerez WorldSBK round and has shed some weight in the lockdown period.

The Aruba Ducati man has ridden a fair bit since the end of strict lockdown stopped any track action at all, but rejected the idea that bike racers, like football players, could come back from the break a bit rusty.

“You know what I think about football players? They get all rusty, why do you reckon? A bit soft. We had the same in GPs,” Redding told bikesportnews.com.

The guys say when they go to Sepang that they haven’t ridden for two or three months and then they go out - lap five and break the lap record. It is one of those things where you kind of don’t forget it, especially for the top riders.

“For me, I can go off the bike and when I go on again I go better after I have had a long. It is just one of them things.

“When I rode motocross, I would go off for two month and when I got back on I was faster than I was before. I do not understand but sometimes having a break is nice. You have a little bit of a reset. For me, even in Misano I went straight out and felt good, same here.

“When you have a good team behind you and everyone has the right spirit and the right goal, things just flow a bit better.”

After his initial WorldSBK podium successes in Australia, losing some kilos to help his fitness, and now with the season restarting in Jerez right at the end of July, Redding confirmed that the idea is to go to Jerez and try to win. Like everybody else in the top flight, of course.

That is the goal, I think that is the goal for most of the riders there. But we have shown over these few days that we are strong in hot conditions I feel better in myself with a bit less weight that has also helped me again.

“There area few more things I can help in myself but racing is always a different thing. I try to replicate racing in testing as much as possible.

“Going to Jerez now, I checked the weather and it is supposed to be 36-37°C this week. I do not want to be racing in that.

“There is hot and there is extremely hot. But again it is the same for everyone – bite on the gum shield and make it work.”

With so many races – Jerez, Portimao, Aragon one and two, Catalunya and then Magny-Cours in a relatively short period, it will be an intense period, especially if circumstances dictate that Magny-Cours is the final round. He does not see it as being a kind of mad free for all, however.

“I would not say a free for all. We have three races in a WorldSBK weekend. Not as many rounds but there are still a lot of races in a weekend. The points are still the same, so it is still a full season to some extent, where we need to gain points and be consistent when and where we can.

“I do not think any of the guys will be doing any thing like the showdown in BSB – where it is all in. I think they will be still be smart riding, trying to think about the title more than races.”