The GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team returned to action today, 16 October, at the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto, Spain, for the final round of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship. Remy Gardner and Stefano Manzi faced a demanding opening day, finishing 18th and 21st respectively in the combined standings after Friday’s two Free Practice sessions.
Gardner took to the track for Free Practice 1 at 10:35 local time, focusing primarily on race-distance preparation and using the same set of tyres throughout the 45-minute session. The Australian eventually finished 16th with a best lap time of 1’39.836. In the afternoon, the #87 rider continued working on long runs, prioritising race pace over outright lap time. He ended FP2 in 20th place with a 1’40.089, finishing 18th overall in the combined standings.
Manzi followed a similar approach, concentrating on race pace during the morning session. The Italian posted a best time of 1’40.253 to finish 20th in FP1. In the afternoon, the #62 rider continued working on long runs and improved his lap time to 1’40.141, although he ended the session 21st and the day in the same position in the combined standings.
Both riders will return to the track tomorrow morning for Free Practice 3, ahead of the Superpole session at 11:15 local time. Race 1 is scheduled to get underway at 15:30.
FULL FREE PRACTICE RESULTS
Remy Gardner: P18 (1’39.836)
“It was a demanding day, to be honest, but we remain confident and positive heading into the rest of the weekend. Temperatures are particularly high here at the moment, which is another factor we need to take into consideration. It wasn’t easy to make progress from the morning to the afternoon, although our main focus was on race distance rather than outright lap times. We’ll now work hard to find more performance and keep an eye on the weather forecast, as conditions could change quite quickly. If that happens, it could give us an opportunity to move up the field on Saturday.”
Stefano Manzi: P21 (1’40.141)
“Honestly, it wasn’t the Friday we were hoping for, but we’ll keep working hard to improve our performance. Considering the lap times we achieved during testing, we expected to be a little further up the order. However, the conditions are quite different this weekend, and the temperatures have been particularly high so far. We’ll analyse the data we’ve collected and try to find more speed, while also keeping an eye on the weather. Conditions could change during the races, potentially creating opportunities for us to put together a strong result.”
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