Image: Supplied.

Australian Remy Gardner says he ‘never gave up’ after putting in an impressive comeback at Qatar’s opening round of the 2020 Moto2 World Championship yesterday.

The SAG Racing Team contender qualified strongly to start from the second row in position six, however the opening laps saw him relegated to outside of the top 10.

In a spirited ride, Gardner charged his way back into the mix, moving up to fifth while displaying podium pace, although he ultimately ran out of time to cross the line in P5.

“Qualifying could have been so much worse following my two crashes and considering how we ended the opening day,” Gardner reflected. “I was riding with a bit of pain in my back and ribs so to put it on the second row for the opening round was good damage limitation you could say.

“I didn’t make the perfect lap, but Sunday is when it counts. We had had good pace all weekend and, in the test, so I was confident for the race. We lost a lot of time in the first ten laps and I dropped all the way down to 12th, but I never gave up and kept fighting and in the last few laps I thought we had a shot for the podium.

“One more lap and it could have been a trophy, but I can’t be unhappy with the work done, the team did a great job and it feels like a podium even if it’s not. Already looking forward to the next race, wherever it is and to pushing hard as ever.”

The next stop of Moto2 is scheduled for 5 April at Circuit of the Americas, although uncertainty surrounds it amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.