The GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team completed a productive opening day at Donington Park as the eighth round of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship got underway. With the emphasis firmly on race preparation, Remy Gardner and Stefano Manzi finished Friday 15th and 19th respectively on the combined timesheets after two constructive practice sessions.
Gardner and his crew dedicated the day to evaluating race setup options and gathering valuable data for the weekend ahead. The Australian returned to the historic British circuit with a solid start in Free Practice 1, setting a best lap of 1’26.833 to finish 14th. Despite warmer track conditions in the afternoon, the 28-year-old improved his pace to a 1’26.462 while continuing to work through his race package, ending the day 15th overall.
For rookie Stefano Manzi, Friday marked another important step in his adaptation to the Yamaha R1 around the demanding Donington Park layout. After recording a 1’27.023 in the morning session to place 17th, the reigning WorldSSP Champion made encouraging progress throughout the afternoon. Improving his best lap to 1’26.765 while focusing on race consistency, the Italian concluded the opening day 19th on the combined standings.
Both will return to the track on Saturday for Free Practice 3 before the crucial Tissot Superpole session at 11:15 local time, with Race 1 scheduled to begin at 15:30.
FULL FREE PRACTICE RESULTS
Remy Gardner: “Overall, it was a productive day and we completed a lot of useful laps while collecting plenty of data for the rest of the weekend. The position isn’t where we want to be, but we’re aware of the areas where we can improve and I think we still have some margin to find. Qualifying will be particularly important because the field is incredibly close and even a tenth of a second can make a big difference on the starting grid. We’ll keep working hard overnight, and I’m confident we can make another step forward ahead of Race 1.”
Stefano Manzi: “It was a demanding but positive first day. This was my first time riding the Yamaha R1 at Donington Park, which is a fantastic but also very challenging circuit, so we knew it would take some time to build confidence. We made good progress between the morning and afternoon sessions, and I’m optimistic we can take another step tomorrow. The goal is to close the gap to the riders ahead, put together a strong qualifying performance and be in a better position for Race 1.”
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