Dominique Aegerter was sixth quickest for the GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK team as the 2025 WorldSBK season got underway with Friday Practice at the iconic Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.

Conditions were dry and sunny for the opening free practice session as the team set about preparing for the weekend’s two flag-to-flag races. Aegerter showed strong pace throughout the 45-minute session, setting the fifth-fastest time in the latter stages with a 1’29.739. Teammate Gardner was 16th.

Even warmer conditions in the afternoon led to a greasy circuit, making it difficult to improve lap times from the morning session. Both Aegerter and Gardner focused on pace over race distance, rather than qualifying simulations. The Swiss rider did not improve his time from FP1, while team-mate Gardner found some improvement to set a 1’30.299. This left Aegerter sixth on the combined times and Gardner 17th.

Dominique Aegerter: P6 (1’29.739)
“It was a mixed day overall. In the morning we were able to be consistent, also in the latter stages. For sure the tyre management here is a less thing to worry about, but it’s still important to be fast with a used tyre, just to be sure we’ll be able to fight also at the end of the 10-lap stint. In the afternoon we did struggle a little bit more in a warmer second free practice, so we’ll need to check what happened but I’m confident we’ll be able to make a good job and be back having the good vibes we enjoyed this morning.”

Remy Gardner: P17 (1’30.299)
“A complicated day to be honest. For sure we were expecting a little bit more, but I’m confident the laps we produced will help us on improving for tomorrow. There are some areas where we still struggle a little bit and we’ll work hard to find a proper solution. Let’s stay positive for the rest of the weekend, we’ll give it all and I’m confident we’ll be able to bounce back.”