Remy Gardner hampered by injury during P.I. WorldSBK Testing

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WorldSBK 2026

Phillip Island Test

February 16-17, 2026

The GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team completed its final pre-season outing on 16–17 February at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, with Remy Gardner continuing his build-up to the 2026 Superbike World Championship opener at the same venue this weekend.

For the 27-year-old, the two-day test was less about chasing a headline lap time and more about methodically working through a structured programme on the Yamaha R1 as he continues to recover from shoulder injuries the 2021 Moto2 World Champion sustained while training late last year.

Day 1: Foundation work

Gardner logged 61 laps on Monday, focusing on re-establishing rhythm and confidence aboard the R1 rather than attacking the timesheets. His best of 1m31.350 placed him 21st on the combined order at the end of day one.

With warm conditions typical of Phillip Island in February, the emphasis remained on maintaining consistent race pace and refining base settings rather than extracting a single low-fuel flyer.

Day 2: Incremental gains

Tuesday followed a similar template, with further component evaluation and set-up refinement aimed squarely at the race weekend. Gardner improved to a 1m30.269, climbing to 17th overall across the two days, 1.6 seconds off the benchmark set by Ducati’s Nicolo Bulega.

The near one-second gain underlined steady progress, even if outright pace remains an area to unlock once physical condition and race intensity come fully into play. It should also be noted that Gardner was marginally faster on the Yamaha at this test last year.

Remy Gardner – P17 overall

“It hasn’t been the easiest couple of days, but I knew it would be tricky here. I’m still struggling a bit physically, but it should improve during the week, so I’m staying confident.

“I’m happy we were able to finalise some work on the setup and try a few things ahead of the race weekend. We now have two days to recover and then we’ll be back, so let’s stay positive.”

With only a short turnaround before lights out on Saturday, the focus now shifts from evaluation to execution. For Gardner, a clean run through practice and Superpole will be critical at a circuit where track position and tyre management are decisive over race distance.

The groundwork has been laid; the question now is how much more the Yamaha package can yield when the stopwatch starts to matter and how Remy himself holds up under the rigours of racing. Early indications are that it could be a tough weekend for the sole Australian in the field.

WorldSBK Phillip Island Test Times

Pos	Rider	Nat	Bike	Time
1	BULEGA Nicolo	ITA	Ducati Panigale V4R	1’28.630
2	LOWES Sam	GBR	Ducati Panigale V4R	+0.666
3	BALDASSARRI Lorenzo	ITA	Ducati Panigale V4R	+0.698
4	MONTELLA Yari	ITA	Ducati Panigale V4R	+0.721
5	BASSANI Axel	ITA	bimota KB998 Rimini	+0.743
6	LOWES Alex	GBR	bimota KB998 Rimini	+0.945
7	OLIVEIRA Miguel	POR	BMW M 1000 RR	+1.046
8	LECUONA Iker	ESP	Ducati Panigale V4R	+1.139
9	VIERGE Xavi	ESP	Yamaha YZF R1	+1.182
10	GERLOFF Garrett	USA	Kawasaki ZX-10RR	+1.193
11	BAUTISTA Alvaro	ESP	Ducati Panigale V4R	+1.231
12	PETRUCCI Danilo	ITA	BMW M 1000 RR	+1.276
13	MACKENZIE Tarran	GBR	Ducati Panigale V4R	+1.327
14	SURRA Alberto	ITA	Ducati Panigale V4R	+1.339
15	MANZI Stefano	ITA	Yamaha YZF R1	+1.480
16	LOCATELLI Andrea	ITA	Yamaha YZF R1	+1.575
17	GARDNER Remy	AUS	Yamaha YZF R1	+1.639
18	VICKERS Ryan	GBR	Honda CBR1000RR-R SP	+1.816
19	DIXON Jake	GBR	Honda CBR1000RR-R SP	+1.862
20	NAGASHIMA Tetsuta	JPN	Honda CBR1000RR-R SP	+1.883
21	SOFUOGLU Bahattin	TUR	Yamaha YZF R1	+2.110
22	RATO Mattia	ITA	Yamaha YZF R1	+3.342

2026 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship calendar


……Date…….	Country	Circuit	WorldSBK	WorldSSP	WorldSPB
20-22 Feb	AUS	Phillip Island GP	X	X
27-29 Mar	POR	Algarve Int’l	X	X	X
17-19 Apr	NED	TT Assen	X	X	X
1-3 May	HUN	Balaton Park	X	X
15-17 May	CZE	Most	X	X	X
29-31 May	ESP	MotorLand Aragon	X	X	X
12-14 Jun	ITA	Misano – Marco Simoncelli	X	X	X
10-12 Jul	UK	Donington Park	X	X
4-6 Sep	FRA	Nevers Magny-Cours	X	X	X
25-27 Sep	ITA	Cremona	X	X	X
9-11 Oct	POR	Estoril	X	X
16-18 Oct	ESP	Jerez – Angel Nieto*	X	X	X

2026 World Superbike Championship Entry List


Rider	Bike	Team
I.Lecuona	Duc	Aruba.It Ducati
N.Bulega	Duc	Aruba.It Ducati
D.Petrucci	BMW	ROKiT BMW Motorrad
M.Oliveira	BMW	ROKiT BMW Motorrad
A.Locatelli	Yam	Pata Maxus Yamaha
X.Vierge	Yam	Pata Maxus Yamaha
Y.Montella	Duc	Barni Spark
A.Bautista	Duc	Barni Spark
A.Lowes	Bim	bimota by Kawasaki
A.Bassani	Bim	bimota by Kawasaki
S.Chantra	Hon	Honda HRC
J.Dixon	Hon	Honda HRC
S.Manzi	Yam	GYTR GRT Yamaha
R.Gardner	Yam	GYTR GRT Yamaha
S.Lowes	Duc	ELF Marc VDS
L.Baldassarri	Duc	Goeleven
T.Mackenzie	Duc	MGM Racing
G.Gerloff	Kaw	Kawasaki WorldSBK
A.Surra	Duc	Motocorsa
M.Rato	Yam	Motoxracing
B.Sofuoglu	Yam	Motoxracing
A.Iannone	Duc	Cainam Racing