Aegerter Battles to Eighth in Dramatic Race 1, Sensational Superpole for Gardner
Dominique Aegerter’s efforts earned him a solid eighth place finish in a dramatic and difficult Race 1 at the Autodrom Most, while a tricky tyre choice led Remy Gardner to 11th.
The GYTR GRT Yamaha riders put FP3 to good use and were well prepared to produce quick laps on their way to the Tissot Superpole. The Australian rider in particular rode strongly and went on to set a great 1’31.419, initially earning him fourth. Following a results revision by race direction, the #87 was promoted to 3rd, which meant a first ever WorldSBK front row for him. On the other side of the garage, Aegerter was on a quick lap as well, but he unfortunately crashed out and couldn’t manage more than 10th (1’31.822).
With skies dark closing in as the WorldSBK field waited to start, Race 1 was declared wet. Gardner opted for wet tyres which helped him to the front in the early stages, but as the track has dried the Aussie came in the pits to switch to slick compounds. The #87 rejoined as one of the quickest riders on track, recovering to P11 and managing the full race distance well but unable to climb further through the order. Meanwhile, Aegerter started on intermediates, completing the race on the same set of tyres. The Swiss rider dropped to P21 on the second lap, but he went quicker with each passing lap and crossed the line in 8th, which meant he gained 13 positions with some great moves to grab more points for his campaign.
Dominique Aegerter – Superpole: P10 / Race 1: P8
“We improved our performance but, unfortunately, I had a small crash on my fast lap in the Tissot Superpole. I was the fastest in the last sector, but I wanted it too much and I went off line. The guys had a very short amount of time to repair the bike, and they made a great effort so I would like to thank them a lot. The weather today was crazy, at first we decided to race with wet tyres, but on the grid we switched to intermediates. In the early stages I couldn’t get the pace, but I kept improving each lap, managing to make my way through the field. I was strong in the final laps. I played with the electronics, and a race like this is definitely not easy to manage, but it’s a new WorldSBK experience to add to my ‘C.V’. We grabbed more important points, let’s hope for stable weather tomorrow and a Top 9 spot in the Tissot Superpole Race to get a better starting position in Race 2.”
Remy Gardner – Superpole: P3 / Race 1: P11
“We managed to improve for the Tissot Superpole, which is super positive, and we started from the front row for the very first time. Unfortunately, in Race 1 the tyre choice was not the best, but everything was unpredictable and difficult. We were a bit unlucky but we still take the positives and the experience for the future. We have two more races to go and we’re confident about making a good team effort on Sunday.”
