Gardner third for GYTR GRT Yamaha on opening day in Assen
Remy Gardner was third quickest as the GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team returned to action at the iconic TT circuit Assen for the third round of the FIM Superbike World Championship.
A wet start to Free Practice 1 saw both Gardner and team-mate Dominique Aegerter sit out the first 15 minutes of the session, before venturing out as the track started to dry. The duo showed good speed on their Yamaha R1 machines, placing fourth (1’36.282) and 11th (1’36.602) respectively.
In the afternoon’s Free Practice 2, which started in dry conditions, both riders were able to improve their performance with quick lap times in the first half of the session. Gardner put himself into the top three with a 1’35.827 before a red flag halted the session as circuit staff re-positioned a safety fence. Aegerter was ninth at the point the red flag came out (1’36.212).
Unfortunately, rain would start to fall during the stoppage meaning no further lap time improvement was possible. Nevertheless, both riders headed out on wet tyres for further practice given the unpredictable weather forecast for the rest of the weekend.
Free Practice Results
Remy Gardner: 3rd – 1’35.827
“It was not an easy day with the weather, but we enjoyed some valuable track time on slick tyres even though the tarmac was not still completely dry. Conditions were tougher in the afternoon with the wind, but we managed to improve and that’s a positive thing, although there’s still work to do. We’ll try to get more laps on the SCX tire in the FP3 if we have a dry session, but I liked the feeling during the few laps I did in the FP2. Races and qualifying won’t be an easy deal anyway with the weather changing so quickly, we should be ready for everything.”
Dominique Aegerter: 9th – 1’36.216
“We had quite a busy day with the weather, but we still managed to make some good laps both on dry and wet conditions. There are still some things we need to work on, but it was nice to be back and I’m confident we can have a good weekend. I hope the weather will stay stable throughout the weekend, but we’ll try to be ready for every condition. We’ll be working hard tonight to find new solutions and be faster tomorrow.”
