Remy Gardner will race in the World Superbike Championship for Yamaha next season but says he isn’t ready to leave MotoGP after a single season in the premier class.
Gardner was savagely dumped by his Tech3 team in a tumultuous silly season that will see an all-new rider line-up at the KTM satellite squad from 2023, when it will be rebranded as Gas Gas.
The 24-year-old Aussie said he was informed of his sacking late last month and that he was being let go for not bring “professional enough”.
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KTM’s Pit Beirer denied both claims, saying Gardner’s management was informed in June that an option on his contract wouldn’t be exercised and that it had nothing to do with his professionalism, though he declined to explain the decision to drop the 2021 Moto2 champion less than a year into his rookie campaign.
Speaking at the Aragon Grand Prix, Gardner said he was unhappy to be leaving the category after such a short amount of time and admitted he didn’t know if he’d be able to chart a course back.
“I don‘t feel like I was kind of ready to go yet,” he said, per Crash. “I think I still could have done something quite positive here.
“I don‘t feel like my time was up in MotoGP, but unfortunately that came to quite an abrupt end.”
“I don‘t know if there’s going to be an opportunity to come back obviously.
“But I‘m not sure, honestly, I couldn’t answer that right now, because maybe I’ll like it so much in Superbikes I won’t even want to come back.
“There is a part of me that wants to come back and kind of prove everybody wrong. Especially you-know-who,” he added in an oblique reference to the KTM hierarchy.
Gardner has had a difficult transition from the intermediate-class championship into the backmarker Tech3 team, where he’s had to scrap to score points on a difficult bike. While he’s had a handle on his teammate, Moto2 rival Raúl Fernandez, he also hasn’t shied away from the fact that he at times wasn’t finding satisfaction from the relentlessness of the tour.
Asked if there was a silver lining to be switching to a series with just 12 rounds, down from a likely 21 next year, Gardner was unequivocal.
“For sure — I mean was it 12 weekends this year [in World Superbikes]?” he said, according to Autosport.
“I mean, that’s going to be 10 rounds less than MotoGP in the future.
“For me that’s cool. I’ve got other hobbies in my spare time, which is nice.
“Even this year is really intense and next year with another race on Saturday it’s going to be even tougher.
“So, yeah, it’s getting to the limit I think.”
And Gardner said he was also looking forward to the challenge of switching to the World Superbikes category, where his new GRT squad was the best independent team in 2021 and where several MotoGP alumni have found success.
Spanish 158-start veteran Álvaro Bautista is currently leading the standings, while Scott Redding, Iker Lecuona and Loris Baz in the top 12.
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“I‘m looking forward to the new project for next year,” Gardner said. “It’s going to definitely be a big change for me.
“A lot of things to learn — new tyres and different class, different bikes — but having seen the races the last few months, it does look pretty fun.
“They look really fun to ride. There‘s a lot more passing going on than I think in MotoGP.
“I always like a good scrap, which is fun. I‘m not complaining. I can get my elbows out!
“So yeah, honestly looks pretty awesome.”
