The GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team returned to action today at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimão as Round 2 of the 2026 WorldSBK season got underway, with Remy Gardner producing a solid Friday performance to finish 11th on the combined timesheets.
The Australian rider began his day with Free Practice 1 at 10:20 local time, focusing mainly on race setup for the weekend ahead. During the 45-minute session, Gardner prioritised long runs rather than flying laps, eventually finishing 16th with a best time of 1’41.683.
The afternoon’s Free Practice 2 followed a similar approach, with the #87 continuing to work on race distance. Gardner managed to improve his lap time by 0.8 seconds, ending the day 11th overall with a 1’40.879.
On the other side of the garage, rookie Stefano Manzi used the day to gain as much experience as possible on the Yamaha R1. Despite an early crash during Free Practice 1, fortunately without consequences, the 2025 WorldSSP Champion quickly returned to the track to complete valuable laps ahead of the race weekend, finishing the session in 20th place.
In the afternoon, Manzi was able to complete more laps and continue working on race pace, making progress during the 45-minute session. At the chequered flag, he placed 19th on the combined standings with a best time of 1’41.766.
Both GYTR GRT Yamaha riders will return to action tomorrow for Free Practice 3 in the morning, followed by the Tissot Superpole qualifying session at 11:30 and Race 1 at 15:30 local time.
Remy Gardner: P11 (1’40.879)
“We saw some positives today as we were able to make a good step forward from morning to afternoon and close the gap. There’s still work to do, but we’re confident we can find more performance and improve further. It will be important to put together a strong lap in Superpole tomorrow to secure a good grid position for Race 1 and try to stay close to the front group.”
Stefano Manzi: P19 (1’41.766)
“It wasn’t an easy Friday, as we needed laps to build confidence with the bike. Unfortunately the crash in the morning didn’t help, but luckily it was a small one and I was able to get back on track quickly. Overall we made a decent step forward from morning to afternoon and we’ll keep working to further improve our performance.”
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