Gardner targets ‘Rookie of the Year’ title ahead of MotoGP debut

Moto2 Champion Remy Gardner heads to Qatar confident of his debut season in MotoGP despite ongoing injury issues.

The Australian is preparing for his debut in the premier class with Tech3 KTM but his introduction to the RC16 hasn’t been smooth sailing after Gardner concluded 2021 with broken ribs and started his new year testing schedule with a broken right wrist.

Having undergone surgery less than two weeks before official testing in Malaysia and Indonesia kicked off, the 24-year-old dug deep as he continued to get acquainted with his new bike, completing 133 laps of the all-new Mandalika layout and finishing just over a second adrift of Enea Bastianini’s record breaking pace at Sepang.

“Despite my wrist injury, the preseason was positive overall as we managed to ride all the testing days scheduled,” Gardner confirmed ahead of travelling to Qatar. “I was not perfect on the bike, but all these days allowed me to do enough laps to learn about both my KTM RC16 and the MotoGP class. We understood a lot of things and I cannot wait for Qatar.

“This season, it seems reasonable to be targeting the Rookie of the Year title. I would like to be able to fight for it and for some top ten together with my team. However, I have a lot to learn and it is going to be a very long season, so it will be key to remain calm, and take each race one by one.”