The GYTR GRT Yamaha team has joined its factory stablemates Pata PROMETEON Crescent Racing in launching its 2024 WorldSBK Championship campaign with sophomore riders Remy Gardner and Dominique Aegerter.
The Iwata marque's official satellite off-shoot in WorldSBK, the Italian will enter into a second campaign with the same riders as 2023 with ex-MotoGP Gardner and double WorldSSP Champion Aegerter eager to pick up where they left off after a strong end to their rookie campaigns.
After an initially difficult transition from the Grand Prix class to WorldSBK on the Yamaha R1, Gardner ended 2023 on the up with a season's best finish of fourth in the Jerez finale, a result he was on course to achieve at the penultimate round in Portimao too before technical issues.
Ending the season in ninth place overall, Gardner has been one of the stars of the pre-season so far, notching up more laps than anyone else and ending the most recent Portimao test with the fourth fastest time.
"We had a positive debut season, we kept progressing each round and understanding each other. I am confident we could have a strong 2024 together, we also had some productive test sessions throughout the winter.
"The goal is to stay regularly in the front places and improving every round, with the target of enjoying my career-first WorldSBK podium.”
While Gardner has stood out in pre-season testing, the same cannot be said for team-mate Aegerter, who was forced to miss both the Jerez and Portimao sessions due to a viral infection.
Nevertheless, he is confident he will get back up to speed quickly when the official pre-season test gets underway at Phillip Island ahead of the opening round as he looks to build on a podium-winning end to the 2023 WorldSBK season that lifted him to eighth overall.
“I cannot wait to begin the 2024 season! Unfortunately I was not able to take part at the test we had in January as I’m still recovering from the viral infection, but I am keen to enjoy the first round in Phillip Island.
"Last year we finished the Championship on a high note, the target is to keep improving and fight consistently for the front positions. I would like to be on the podium once again during the season and try to win my first WorldSBK race.”
