Both GYTR GRT Yamaha rookies will ride their Yamaha R1 machines for the first time there, with Gardner making his first ever appearance on the British circuit. On the other side of the garage, Aegerter has the memories from last year, where he got a double win at Donington in his WorldSSP campaign, fresh in his mind. The GYTR GRT Yamaha pair are feeling ready to face the challenge of Donington Park, one of the most iconic tracks in the WorldSBK calendar.
Damiano Evangelisti, Gardner’s Crew Chief, states that the newly resurfaced asphalt could play a key role during the weekend: “It is a very technical track and I believe that riders could make the difference there. We’ll find a lot of ups and downs as well as counter-slope turns, which makes Donington a unique track on the calendar. We hope that we’ll find more grip compared to last year as the tarmac has been resurfaced. It will be the very first time here for Remy (Gardner), so our plan is to make long runs to build his confidence with the circuit.”
The GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team has fond memories at Donington, having achieved a remarkable 2nd place in 2021 with Garrett Gerloff. That might be a confidence boost for the crew, as Team Manager Filippo Conti claims: “We collected great results in the past here and we hope to enjoy a strong weekend on British soil. Anyway, we should remember it’ll be the first time for Dominique on the Yamaha R1 and a complete debut for Remy there. Because of that we’ll work on their adaptation to the track, hoping for good weather throughout the weekend, but we’re confident of doing a good job there.”
Following a three week break, Aegerter cannot wait to hit the track again: “I’m happy to go back to England, I have good memories there. It was a long break for me; during that time I trained hard to be ready for the next rounds. I’m eager to jump back on my Yamaha R1 machine at Donington Park. I like the circuit, it’s an old school one, and we’ll work very hard to do a good performance.”
And the same goes for Gardner: “It’ll be a complete first time for me, I’ve never been to Donington. It looks like a very special track, an old school one, with a lot of history, I like it. We’ll try to quickly adapt to it, plus trying something new to improve our feeling and performance on the bike. I really can’t wait to be back on track after three weeks away, see you there!”
