Alessandro Delbianco achieved a solid Top 10 Result in a chaotic flag-to-flag opening race of the weekend at Mangy-Cours.

The GYTR GRT Yamaha riders put a damp Free Practice 3 session to good use, getting in laps ahead of the wet Tissot Superpole. In tricky conditions, Gardner couldn’t climb higher than 13th (1’55.993), while Delbianco was 18th (1’57.477) on his first time on the Yamaha R1 WorldSBK with rain tyres.

With skies dark closing in and drops of rain falling on the track, tyre choice was a difficult decision on the grid for Race 1, with Gardner opting to tackle the race on full slicks, while Delbianco was on full intermediates tyres.

Drops of rain began to fall as the race began, suggesting Delbianco’s choice may pay off with the Italian rider sitting second for a number of laps. However, the rain got heavier, meaning he’d have to stop for a flag-to-flag pitstop procedure on lap five. He rejoined 16th but was able to make his way through the field to finish in the top ten in his first race with the Yamaha R1 WorldSBK.

Gardner enjoyed a strong getaway, crashing unfortunately on his way to stop for the flag-to-flag procedure; he was able to remount and change to wet tyres, but another crash with four laps to go ended his race prematurely.

Alessandro Delbianco – Superpole: P18 / Race 1: P10
“That was hell of a first race! I have experienced everything today. Rain turned the tables and we knew it could have been a good thing for us, but honestly I would have preferred to have at least a dry Superpole to check our progress. Anyway, it was still a positive experience overall and I’m happy I was able to be back in one piece, it was a survival race and to score points and finish in Top 10 in my first race with the Yamaha R1 WorldSBK it’s good. Let’s hope for a dry day tomorrow, but we’ll be ready for any condition!”

Remy Gardner – Superpole: P13 / Race 1: DNF
“It’s been a disappointing day, not gonna lie. Rain could have turned things around, but it wasn’t the case. I struggled in the Superpole qualifier and Race 1 didn’t tell a different story. We’ll try to check the data and make some adjustments for tomorrow, but once again weather will play a key role as happened today, so we got to be confident that everything can happen.”