Dominique Aegerter added more points to his tally with a ninth-place finish in the final feature race of the Portimão weekend, while Remy Gardner delivered a strong performance in the Superpole Race on the final day of WorldSBK Round 2.
The GYTR GRT Yamaha duo made good use of the last warm-up session, logging solid laps ahead of the Tissot Superpole Race. In the Superpole Race, the duo battled hard until the chequered flag for a top-nine finish. Gardner showed consistent pace throughout the ten lap contest, fighting for seventh place until the end but narrowly missing out on a top-nine result, while his Swiss teammate struggled with grip and finished in 14th place.
Starting from 10th and 11th on the grid in the final race of the weekend, Aegerter and Gardner gave their all to achieve a strong result. The Australian rider had a brilliant start, gaining positions to sit in sixth at the end of the opening lap. He continued to clock fast laps until a red flag on lap nine halted his progress while he was in seventh place. Meanwhile, the two-time WorldSSP Champion joined the battle for the top six, showing promising race pace.
At the restart, Gardner fought to defend his position, once again setting fast lap times. He was soon joined by teammate Aegerter, with both riders battling for sixth. In the latter stages, however, both struggled with tyre grip and lost a few positions. Aegerter crossed the line in ninth place, securing more valuable points, while, unfortunately, #87 crashed with two laps to go, bringing his race to a premature end.
FULL SUPERPOLE RACE RESULTS
FULL RACE TWO RESULTS
Dominique Aegerter – Superpole Race: P14 / Race 2: P9
“It was definitely a rollercoaster Sunday… on the rollercoaster! The Superpole Race didn’t go well; I struggled a lot and didn’t feel comfortable on the bike. Then, in Race 2, things were a bit different, and I felt better on the Yamaha R1, managing to produce fast laps and maintain a decent race pace. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to fight for more, which is always our goal, but finishing with points and two top ten results is still a decent outcome. Now, let’s focus on Assen, a track where we have been strong in the past—I hope we can perform well this year too. I am also sorry for Remy and I hope he is OK after his crash.”
Remy Gardner – Superpole Race: P10 / Race 2: DNF
“This final day was a day of ups and downs, unfortunately. The Superpole Race wasn’t too bad, and I was able to fight for a decent position, although I struggled to overtake other riders, making it difficult to gain another row for Race 2. Then, in Race 2, I got an amazing start and tried to stay as close as possible to the front riders, sticking with the group. My race pace was good until the red flag stopped us, and we had to restart from seventh. I tried to do the same after the restart, but unfortunately, in the latter stages, the feeling wasn’t great. Like in the Superpole Race, battling against the other riders wasn’t easy. I ended up crashing, and that’s definitely not how I wanted to finish the weekend.”
