Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) ends the Pirelli Dutch Round of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship on a positive note after a successful weekend at the TT Circuit Assen. Gardner finished fourth in the Superpole Race, losing out on a podium on the final lap before his dreams came true in Race 2 to finish third after a hard battle.

The Australian started the Superpole Race from sixth on the grid and spent most of the race inside the top five, battling with Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha). However, Lowes overtook Gardner at the final chicane on the final lap, forcing the #87 to settle with a fourth place.

This gave Gardner motivation for Race 2. When he fought his way into the podium positions in the early stages of the race, eventually finding himself in second. However, Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) soon made his way into second as rain began to fall at Assen. Gardner would hold on to third, finishing ahead of Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) and Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha).

Reflecting on a crazy podium, Gardner said: “Finally, yeah, we have had a really tough last year even though we did speed and glimpses of hope, and the first few races definitely didn’t go to plan even though we showed our speed, just luck wasn’t on our side and hasn’t been in a while. But finally, everything has come together, we have had an amazing weekend and have been fast all weekend. Honestly, I feel like we should have had at least two podiums this weekend, but I can’t complain. I think we have maybe broken the curse and are finally back on the box. It has been two years with this podium drought that has finally come to an end.”

It was a monumental moment for Gardner, who now heads to Misano in eighth place in the WorldSBK standings. After joining WorldSBK in 2023, Gardner finished ninth in the standings with a best result of fourth, leaving the Australian wanting more after moving from the MotoGP paddock.

Speaking about how difficult it has been to achieve a maiden WorldSBK podium, Gardner said: “It has been really hard, especially with how my MotoGP career went. It was not good, and I just felt like I was a little discarded as a rider. It has been hard, but I’ve always believed in myself, to be honest, and I’ve kept fighting and pushing because there was one point where I could maybe retire and do something else. But I kept pushing, believing in myself, and kept working as hard as ever. This third position definitely feels like a win to me, that is why it was so frustrating to miss the podium so many times, I think I’ve put in so much work, but finally, good things come to the people who work hard, and it finally pays off.”

The team now head into Misano for the next round, with the team principal for the GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team, Filippo Conti, who is now looking forward to the support in Misano after a great result in Assen.

Conti spoke about his emotions after Gardner’s first podium ahead of Misano: “We are very happy and satisfied. It was not easy, but the race was fantastic, and there were good things with Remy and Domi. It was not unexpected for someone who works so hard and has had the best consistency. The team did an incredible job, and thanks to Yamaha for all their support. I feel very proud of our guys, and I hope this is only the starting point. It is our home race next, and it is very important to us. We are going to have a lot of support and a lot of fun. We are going to have to test and work very hard to be ready for Misano to fight for a great result.”

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