Challenging Opening Day in Misano for Aegerter and Gardner
The GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team riders returned to action on 2nd June at the Misano World Circuit ‘Marco Simoncelli’, Italy, with Aegerter 8th and Gardner 17th on combined times.
The GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team riders returned to action on 2nd June at the Misano World Circuit ‘Marco Simoncelli’, Italy, with Aegerter 8th and Gardner 17th on combined times.
With good weather conditions awaiting the GYTR GRT Yamaha pair, Aegerter and Gardner focused on getting the most from their Yamaha R1 machines. In the 45-minute session, both stayed with the same tyre throughout, with the Swiss rider placing himself 4th (1’34.706), while his Australian teammate was 14th (1’35.232).
Later, in a much hotter Free Practice 2, the #77 and the #87 riders focused primarily on long-distance runs. Unfortunately, a small crash at Turn 1 denied Aegerter track time; ‘Domi’ rejoined the track in the latter stages of the session, although he was unable to improve his lap time from the morning. On the other side of the garage, Gardner didn’t manage to go faster than his FP1 time either, but he felt he gained good data for the long races. At the chequered flag, the Australian was 16th (1’35.321), with his Swiss teammate just behind in 17th (1’35.455).
Dominique Aegerter: P8 – 1’34.706
“I was a bit surprised this morning to feel so good with my arm because I’ve just returned from arm pump surgery, but things went well and we managed to have a great first session. In the afternoon our focus was on race pace but unfortunately I had a crash, my first of the year. I’d like to thank the team as they repaired the bike quickly and I was able to jump back on track in the latter stages of the session. I struggled a bit more with the hotter temperatures in the afternoon, but let’s check the data and I’m confident we’ll be back fighting tomorrow.”
Remy Gardner: P17 – 1’35.232
“FP1 was not too bad, we used the same tyre for the whole session and the feeling was OK. I think the final position didn’t reflect our potential. In the afternoon we tried to make a change in the settings which didn’t pay off in the end, especially considering the hotter conditions. We’ll check with the guys to see how we can improve and I’ll have my head down tomorrow, let’s go for more.”
