Two more pieces of the silly season jigsaw have fallen into place. The GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team will keep their current line-up of Dominique Aegerter and Remy Gardner for 2025, retaining the same pairing for a third MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship campaign. It’s been a mixed season for both riders, but they have shown their speed, helping to secure their place on next year’s WorldSBK grid.
AEGERTER’S SEASON: illness, injury, strong results
Aegerter’s 2024 campaign got off to a tricky start after missing the winter tests through illness, putting him on the back foot heading into the season-opener in Australia. Despite his first time on the bike this season being in the Australia test, the Swiss rider took P6 in Race 1 when racing for underway – his best result of the season. He was in the top ten in all three races ‘Down Under’ and in the second round in Barcelona, before those top ten positions became harder to come by. Aegerter, a double WorldSSP Champion, bounced back from a difficult Most to three top-ten finishes at Portimao, but in a season of bad luck, he was then injured in a training crash and needed surgery, ruling him out of action until Estoril last weekend. Despite the tricky start and mid-season injury, he’s shown enough to secure a spot on the grid with GRT Yamaha next season.
THE SWISS RIDER’S VIEW: “I feel like I have unfinished business in WorldSBK…”
Discussing his renewal, Aegerter said: “It’s been a challenging season for me with illness and injury, so I am grateful to Yamaha and the team for continuing to believe in me. I feel like I have unfinished business in WorldSBK, so I am very happy to be able to continue for another year with the GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team. I am looking forward to getting back with the team before the end of this season so we can look at building nicely into 2025 and show exactly what we can do in the WorldSBK class.”
GARDNER’S CAMPAIGN: a maiden podium at Assen
Gardner too has had an up-and-down campaign. It was characterised by bad luck in the first couple of rounds, running towards the podium places on home soil in Australia before he was taken out at Turn 10 in Race 1, while he was caught up in someone else’s accident in Race 2. At Assen, Gardner took a long-awaited maiden WorldSBK podium when he was third in Race 2 in the Netherlands, which would be the highlight of his season. At Most, he was in the top five in all three races, including P4 in Race 2, but that was the last time the #87 finished in the top five this season. A crash in Race 1 at Estoril ended his season when he fractured his wrist, forcing the former MotoGP™ rider to sit out this week’s Spanish Round that concludes 2024. He’ll be back on the grid next season with GRT Yamaha, remaining with the R1 machine he took to the podium this year.
THE AUSTRALIAN SAYS: “I’m still hungry for more…”
“I am happy to be staying for another year with the GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK team,” began Gardner when talking about his new deal. “2024 has been a bit mixed, but overall, there are a lot of positives including my first podium in WorldSBK at Assen. I’m still hungry for more and hopefully we can build on some of the steps we’ve made this year to be fighting at the front more consistently with another year under our belt in WorldSBK with the R1.”
FROM YAMAHA: “Remy has had a strong season… for Dominique, it’s not been the easiest of years”
Andrea Dosoli, Yamaha Motor Europe’s Road Racing and Research & Development Manager, had stressed throughout 2024 that the ideal scenario was to keep Aegerter and Gardner and they have been secured. He said: “We are pleased to have retained the services of Remy Gardner and Dominique Aegerter for the 2025 FIM Superbike World Championship with the GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team. Remy has had a strong season, fighting for the podium on numerous occasions as well as often finishing as the top R1 rider. We are confident he can continue this trajectory towards more success in 2025. For Dominique, it has not been the easiest of years and luck has not been on his side. We know how fast he can be and do not believe he has shown his true potential in WorldSBK yet, so given the challenges of this year, it made sense to continue with him for 2025.”
THE TEAM’S POINT OF VIEW: “We had some great moments with this duo, and we’re looking forward to many more”
Giving the inside line from GRT Yamaha was Team Principal Filippo Conti, who said: “We are pleased to announce our 2025 line up. We have had a good run with both Remy and Domi, and we are very happy to be able to continue with them next season. We had some great moments with this duo, and we are looking forward to sharing many more. We look forward to a great 2025 together and reaping the fruits of the work done in these two years, where both proved their speed and talent, and we are sure that they will continue to do so and make further progress.”
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Source: WorldSBK.com