Gardner ‘kicking bad habits’ with WorldSBK move
WorldSBK rookie Remy Gardner was inside the top ten on his GRT Yamaha and looking like he was already able to push on as Jerez testing concluded.
Coming from a MotoGP machine with much more power, and a completely race focused rolling chassis to a modified streetbike, may be a lot easier than going the other way around, but this still felt like a strong enough debut against the vast majority of his peers.
“It was good fun, very different from what I’m used to,” Gardner said after the first day at Jerez. “I think the tyres at the moment are the biggest thing, and understanding how much confidence and support the front tyre gives. I did lots of laps, like 80-something laps, which is crazy [he would post 162 after two days] but I think it was good just to understand what I need to adapt and change.”
As well as learning his new bike, Gardner is trying to unlearn some stuff. “I have some bad habits that I am still trying to kick,” the Australian half-joked. “I just need to ride easier and more fluidly. Last year [on the Tech3 KTM RC16] I had to ride like an animal every single lap, every single corner, to go half fast.”
Gardner reckons that the difference in the less stiff Pirelli front tyre shows itself, “…everywhere. Everywhere really. Braking is kind of similar, but kind of that turn-in, trail braking, and getting off the brakes as well, you can push on it so hard. You can feel where it’s at, which is very nice. There are different lines as well, as it is a different bike. I am trying to find a direction.”
About a second off after one day, he was pleased enough with that early showing. “I have been riding prototype bikes for the last seven or eight years of my life and never rode on Pirellis, so for me day one was okay.”