Remy Gardner is to replace an injured Alex Rins for German GP as the Australian makes his MotoGP return.
The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team will enter the final MotoGP round before the summer break with an altered rider line-up: Fabio Quartararo is joined by Remy Gardner, who replaces the injured Álex Rins. Quartararo arrives in Germany holding joint 12th place in the championship standings. After a tough outing at the Dutch GP, the Frenchman is keen to start the weekend at the Sachsenring trying new settings in search of further improvement.
The Sachsenring has unique characteristics: it’s twisty, has steep elevation changes, and has predominately left-hand turns. It’s not for everyone, but El Diablo has known success there. A superb win in 2022 (despite feeling under the weather at the time) and a third place in 2021 on German soil underline that Quartararo certainly knows his way around the narrow track.
Following Rins’ crash at the start of the TT Assen MotoGP Race last Sunday, the Spaniard has successfully undergone surgery on his wrist and ankle on Monday evening. With the support of the team, he has decided to focus on making a full recovery in time for the British GP right after the MotoGP summer break.
In the meantime, the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team welcome Remy Gardner as a replacement rider. As the 2021 Moto2 World Champion and former premier class rider (2022), the Australian is already familiar with the MotoGP paddock and the Sachsenring track. Gardner has been riding for the GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK team since 2023, which means the seat stays within the Yamaha familiy.
The area of Chemnitz is known for its love of car and motorcycle racing. Originally, races in the area were held on closed public roads from the 1920s onward. The Sachsenring was built in 1996 for safety reasons. Two years later, the track hosted its first MotoGP event. The just 12m wide circuit has numerous tight corners (ten left, three right), making this circuit one of the slower tracks on the calendar, but there will still be plenty of action at the German GP.
MASSIMO MEREGALLI: “First of all, let me start by saying that the team is relieved that Álex’ surgery went well and that the injuries he sustained in the highside are not more serious. We all wish him a speedy recovery, and we hope to welcome him back soon.
“Secondly, we are thankful to Remy Gardner and the GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK team that he can join us at the Sachsenring on such short notice. We are sure that this will be an interesting experience for him, but the team will do everything we can to make him feel welcome and supported throughout this weekend’s steep learning curve.
“The Sachsenring is quite peculiar: its narrow and has a lot of left-handers. It’s difficult to overtake there, so a place in Q2 is even more valuable here than usual. We expect that this will be challenging, but we are intending to do whatever we can to collect as much data as possible before the summer break.”
Fabio Quartararo: “The Dutch GP was tough. I expected the Race to go a bit better, especially at the beginning. Hopefully we can find some positives in the data and improve for the next weekend. In general, I don’t think that the Sachsenring is a good track for us, especially the second and third sector will be complicated, but we have to take the positives and try to get some data in order to keep improving. I wish Álex a speedy recovery. I hope to see him back at the track soon.”
Alex Rins: “The surgery went well, and I’m heading home now. Unfortunately I’ll miss the next GP, but I hope to be back very soon. Despite this bump in the road, our motivation to keep working is higher than ever.”
Remy Gardner: “First of all, I hope Álex can have a fast recovery and I wish him the best. I’m really excited about this challenge. I just want to say ‘Thank you so much’ to Yamaha for trusting me to ride this weekend. I will use it as a great experience to learn. It’s a new bike, and coming back to MotoGP for one race is always a nice experience, so I’m looking forward to enjoying this weekend, and I’m just extremely happy for this opportunity. Once again a big ‘Thank you’ to Yamaha.”
[Note: The story is as per press release]
