Remy Gardner was unable to race in the Misano Moto2 race in Italy after a monster highside in Sunday morning’s warm up, prevented him from capitalising on his pole position gift.

Setting the second fastest time in Saturday’s Q2 to secure a front row start, Gardner was set to start from pole position following the penalty for Sam Lowes but following the dramatic crash in morning warm up, the Australian was ruled unfit for the race.

Further medical checks revealed that Gardner suffered a broken thumb and three left foot fractures in the turn 11 tumble. While the tough Aussie wanted to ride, he will now fly to Barcelona for an operation, and remains optimistic and focused on next weekend’s event.

“The crash on Friday morning didn’t help with the confidence and with the plan for working on the basic setting but the new asphalt really surprised me. I was still sure we would be able to improve when it counted – the focus was always on the race,” said Gardner.

“Saturday was a really great day. We worked really well as a team and were able to come back from a tough Friday. I was extremely happy to be on the front row and with Sam’s penalty, I was P1 on the grid. I knew the Italian riders would be fast here in Misano, so the target was to do a good race and leave with some strong points.

“We were fast again in warm-up and honestly, I have no idea why I went down. It was a big crash, but I escaped relatively unhurt. I am now going to Barcelona to be operated on and I hope to be able to ride next week, but it’s too early to say for sure that I can. Thanks for the support and see you all back on track soon.”