Gardner Battles to Eighth, Up and Down Day for Aegerter
Remy Gardner gained eight places in Race 2 at Magny-Cours to finish 8th, while Dominique Aegerter enjoyed a great Superpole Race to take 6th, but was then ruled out in a crash caused by another rider in the final feature race of the weekend.
The day started with Warm-Up, where the GYTR GRT Yamaha duo kept working on race pace: the Swiss concluded the session in 14th (1’37.442), with his Aussie teammate 16th (1’37.498).
With more confidence, Aegerter and Gardner displayed good form in the Tissot Superpole Race. Indeed, the #77 managed to gain six places to finish sixth following a great last lap manoeuvre, while the #87 was fighting for a Top 9 spot but finished 11th at the chequered flag.
That meant the pair would start from sixth and 16th in the final feature race of the weekend. Aegerter had a decent getaway, managing to stay with the front group, but unfortunately his hopes only lasted three laps after he got hit by another rider and went down, causing a red flag stoppage. The Swiss rider was then taken to the medical centre for further checks, which prevented him from restarting. He received the ‘all clear’, although he will need to rest after the heavy hit. Meanwhile, Gardner enjoyed a good start before the stoppage, gaining places; he then restarted from 12th, and the Aussie showed consistent pace to stay inside the Top 10 – managing to fight back to eighth thanks to two great last lap moves.
Remy Gardner – Superpole Race: P11 / Race 2: P8
“It was a tough weekend, but we kept progressing and I can go home knowing I made a good comeback in the final feature race. Unfortunately, yesterday I made a mistake in the qualifying and I had to start from far back, but we managed to build pace and confidence from Saturday. I think we had the speed but starting from 16th didn’t help at all. Anyway, we scored valuable points and gained positions and experience for the future, that will be helpful for the remaining rounds. I’d like to thank the team for their work all weekend, and Yamaha for their support.”
Dominique Aegerter – Superpole Race: P6 / Race 2: DNF
“The sprint race was very positive, finishing sixth to equal my best Superpole race result so far. That was also very good for my start position in Race 2 as well, it gave me a second row. I felt sure I could have a positive race and I was battling with the front group, but after three laps another rider hit me from the back and I crashed. I needed to go to the medical centre and I couldn’t rejoin. I have a little bit of pain in my elbow, but I’d like to say a big thanks to the team, they would have been ready to get me back on track. Now I need some rest, but we’ll surely take the positive notes from here to be strong in Aragon, trying to show our potential once again. A big thanks also to the fans, they were incredible and they gave me a lot of motivation.”
