Remy Gardner and Dominique Aegerter completed the first official day of WorldSBK practice of 2024 at the iconic Phillip Island circuit on Friday, showing strong race speed rather than focusing on fast laps, ending the day ninth and 13th on the combined times.

The GYTR GRT Yamaha duo faced a rain-shortened first free practice session, enjoying track action just in the final minutes as the track dried up. Local hero Gardner placed fourth on a 1’29.755, with his teammate Aegerter ninth clocking a 1’30.350.

The second free practice did not tell a different story, with drops of rain affecting the session in the early stages. Thankfully, the #87 and the #77 were able to have more track time in the dry, focusing on race pace rather than flying laps. After completing consistent runs, Gardner secured eighth place (1’29.349), while Aegerter finished 13th, just half of a second slower then the fastest time (1’29.623).

Both riders will be back in action on Saturday with a new race format, specifically for the Phillip Island round. The distance of both Race 1 and Race 2 have been shortened from 22 to 20 laps, with the flag to flag race procedure applying and no more than 11 race laps allowed for any rear dry tyre meaning pit stops on lap nine, ten or 11.

Remy Gardner: P9 (1’29.349)
“It was a strange day due to the weather. We had some dry time, but not a full session in ideal conditions and the track didn’t have the rubber due to the rain. It wasn’t easy at all to push, but I feel we did a good job and we’re ready for tomorrow’s qualifying and race, keeping in mind that we’ll have a different race format.”

Dominique Aegerter: P13 (1’29.623)
“Thankfully we had some dry time throughout the day. Physically I’m already feeling better than the test, that’s a positive thing. Overall we made a step forward, even though we know there’s still some work to do, but we’re confident that we’ll be able to improve our performance tomorrow. The race format will be different with the flag-to-flag, that’s something we should keep in mind. Moreover, I’m just half of a second far from the top and I’m 13th, it’s going to be an interesting race with a lot of riders able to fight for the front.”