The GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team returned to action at the iconic Phillip Island Circuit in Australia for the Dorna-supported test on February 17-18, ahead of the first round of the 2025 season.
Local hero Remy Gardner and Dominique Aegerter enjoyed dry conditions on the first day, focusing on maximizing the performance of their Yamaha R1 machines throughout the four hours of testing.
It was a busy day for both GYTR GRT Yamaha riders, with Gardner completing 61 laps in total and finishing 13th with a best lap of 1'30.233. On the other side of the garage, Aegerter completed 72 laps, with a fastest time of 1'31.185.
On the second and final day of testing, Gardner and Aegerter faced mixed weather conditions. In the morning, they were able to record lap times on dry track conditions, with Gardner completing 34 laps and Aegerter 37, placing 15th (1'30.245) and 18th (1'30.617) respectively.
Later in the session, the weather took a turn, and just as the green light signaled the start of the afternoon session, rain began to fall. Gardner and Aegerter opted to continue testing on wet tyres given the uncertain forecast for the weekend. As the track began to dry, the GYTR GRT Yamaha duo returned to the track on slick tyres.
Aegerter secured a top-10 finish in the final test session with a 1'30.461 after completing 32 laps. Unfortunately, Gardner’s progress was halted due to a technical issue in the final minutes, leaving him just behind his teammate in 11th place with a best time of 1'30.464 from 19 laps.
Remy Gardner: P16 (1’30.223)
“There’s work to do, we’re aware of that, but let’s take the positive things from the test. We were able to clock a decent amount of laps and gain useful data for the beginning of the season. We tried many things during these two days and now it’s time to put everything together to be ready for the first round. Now let’s enjoy a bit of time to rest and recharge our batteries, we need to be fully prepared for the season opener and I cannot wait to see all the Australians fans in Phillip Island!”
Dominique Aegerter: P17 (1’30.461)
“We kept progressing each session, and that’s a positive thing. Day 1 was quite challenging, but following a lot of effort in general the feeling on the second day was better. Unfortunately the rain in the afternoon made us losing some valuable track time, but thankfully we were able to produce some good laps in the end, trying to push. We’ll keep working hard before the season opener, and we’ll try to be as much ready as possible for the first round!”
