As the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship grid shifts its attention from the two days of testing carried out March 14-15^th at Portimao, to the upcoming Pirelli Portuguese Round at the same circuit; several riders distinguished themselves and have thrust themselves into the podium conversation. Few riders made more of an impression than Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team). Across the two days, Gardner looked very competitive, finishing Day 1 P6, and Day 2 in P5 with his fastest lap of the test coming in Day 2 at 1’40.544s.

Gardner responded well after a disappointing home round for the Sydney native, having earned a P10 finish in the Tissot Superpole, he was forced to retire early due to mechanical issues in both Race 1 and Race 2. That didn’t stop Gardner, however, from responding in a big way. Once the overnight rain had evaporated from the track, in his first seven lap stint, he took P1 which he held on to for most of the day until Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) and others pipped him near the end of the session.

Despite the rapid pace, Gardner kept a level head and preferred to take a measured approach to his day 1 success in testing. On his Day 1, Gardner said, “It’s been a positive day here, we tried some new things which seemed to give us a good feeling so we’re happy with this. It was a shame we missed the morning, but we were able to do a lot of laps in the afternoon. So, I’m happy and we’re looking forward to trying some new stuff tomorrow.”

Across his three years in WorldSBK, Gardner has only competed at Portimao in two prior rounds at the circuit. In his limited time there however, Gardner has proven he can rise to the occasion and perform at a high level at the rollercoaster round, as he tied his mark for his best career weekend at Portimao in 2023, landing a P4 in the Tissot Superpole Race, and a P6 in Race 1. Results like these will be what Gardner will hope to emulate and build on going into this 2025 Portuguese Round.

On his experience in the recent Portimao Test and looking forward to Round 2 at the same circuit March 28-30^th, Gardner said, “It was a positive test, and we managed to try some new things ahead of the race. Unfortunately, we missed some valuable track time due to the weather, but we were still able to complete a good number of laps and gather useful data. The lap time was strong, considering it came on a race tire, and the overall pace was promising, which gives us confidence for the race weekend. That said, we know there’s still work to do, and we’ll make sure to be fully prepared for the second round of the season.”

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