Moto2, MotoGP and current World Superbike rider Remy Gardner is to get his second shot in the premier class, as he stands in for the injured Alex Rins for the next round at Sachsenring, Germany.
The move came about after Rins suffered a violent highside on the opening lap of the Dutch TT at Assen. Forced offline in the first corner melee, the rear tyre of Rins’ Monster Energy Yamaha M1 lost grip, flinging him in the air and then dumping him on his head.
The crash caused two fractures in his right hand, for which he was immediately flown to Madrid to undergo surgery. Rins was already waiting to have a pin removed from his leg, put in place to fix injuries sustained in a crash at Mugello last season, although that procedure was brought forward to coincide with surgery on his hand which took place this week.
Although not officially confirmed by Monster Energy Yamaha or his own GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team, reports suggest that Rins’ injuries will be sufficient to see him out for the foreseeable and that Gardner will be the man to replace the recuperating Spaniard.
Riding the M1 at Sachsenring will not be the Australian racer’s first taste of MotoGP machinery, as he previously raced for the Tech3 KTM Factory Racing squad in 2022. That was a year that showed promise for the 2021 Moto2 champion, and despite sitting higher in the standings than his then-teammate, Raúl Fernández, Gardner was dropped by the team for being what he described as ‘not professional enough’. Unable to find a suitable seat at the top table, Gardner set his sights on WorldSBK and signed with the GYTR Yamaha team. He currently sits in seventh place in the standings with a best finish of 3rd place at the Assen Circuit earlier this year.
