Next weekend, Remy Gardner will make his third appearance of the MotoGP season. After replacing the injured Álex Rins in Germany and participating as a wildcard in place of Cal Crutchlow at the British GP, the rider, who usually competes in the World Superbike Championship, will now take part as a wildcard in the Japanese GP from October 4 to 6.
The Australian has been connected to the Iwata manufacturer since his move to WSBK in 2023. It has been two years since he last raced at Motegi. With Yamaha competing on home soil, they have sometimes opted to enter a wildcard, and Gardner was considered the ideal choice – especially since their test rider, Crutchlow, is still recovering from injury.
Unlike Silverstone, the third YZR-M1 will feature the Monster Energy Yamaha livery. In a statement, Gardner expressed his excitement about returning to MotoGP and his desire to repay Yamaha’s trust:
– I am really excited to race in Japan, it’s a country I always enjoyed visiting in Grand Prix racing, but to go to Japan and race for a Japanese manufacturer in MotoGP in front of the Japanese fans will be something special. It is nice that, after Sachsenring and Silverstone, Yamaha have asked me to come back. They clearly feel that I bring something to the development programme, so hopefully we can have a productive weekend in Motegi too.
The coming weeks will be intense for the #87, as he acknowledged: ‘It will be a busy period for me with five races in five weeks, but I ride bikes almost every weekend anyway, so it’s nothing new for me!’.