Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP |News details:Gardner Finishes Sprint in 18th on Mixed Motegi Saturday

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The Yamaha Factory Racing Test Team continued their testing programme on the Saturday of the Grand Prix of Japan. Wild-card entry Remy Gardner finished the Sprint in 18th place, collecting useful data.

Mobility Resort Motegi (Japan), 5th October 2024

The Yamaha Factory Racing Test Team used the Grand Prix of Japan Saturday sessions to collect further data and analyse prototype parts. Gardner started the 12-lap Sprint from P23, taking part with the main aim to collect data to accelerate bike development for 2025. The number-87 rider finished the contest in 18th place.

Starting from 23rd position on the grid, Gardner found himself riding behind Álex Rins for a large part of the Sprint. However, halfway through the race the Aussie stayed behind. Unable to battle with other riders, he focused on his rhythm and gathering good data. Multiple crashes by other participants saw the Yamaha test rider finish in 18th place, 32.620s from first.

The Yamaha Factory Racing Test Team will be back in action tomorrow for Warm Up, held from 09:40 - 09:50 GMT +9, and the 24-lap Race, which starts at 12:00.

Kazutoshi Seki

Yamaha Factory Racing Test Team Leader

Today's sessions were important for the test team. FP2 allowed us to gather some more testing data, and the Sprint was vital as it gave us our first data from a 'race-like' setting for the prototype items. It was a tough Sprint race for Remy because he was trying different things on the bike today and also because the track conditions kept changing. The team is trying to find a good balance between the new test parts, while Remy is trying to get used to what is essentially a 'new bike' with a new set-up each time he heads out on track. All in all, it was a productive day, though. We completed what we had set out to do for today. Now we need to analyse the data very carefully so we can decide on what testing items to try in tomorrow's Race.

Remy Gardner

Yamaha Factory Racing Test Team Rider

In the end, we improved a lot today. I'm still missing a little confidence with the bike and understanding of the tyres. But I was quite happy with the qualifying, and the Sprint race up to the halfway point was very good. Then we had a big drop in the rear tyre, which we need to understand how to manage. It was also the first time I was riding with the hard front, so it was a learning experience. We learned some things, and hopefully we can improve more tomorrow.

Japanese GP | Sprint Classifications

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