Gardner will contest the 2022 MotoGP season on a Tech3 team KTM after beating teammate Raúl Fernández in the fight for this year’s Moto2 title.
The Australian, son of 1987 MotoGP world champion Wayne Gardner, finished the Jerez tests 1.8 seconds off the fastest time, in 22nd place in the combined time table.
The KTM RC16 won twice in 2021, but all the KTM riders had a pretty tough season.
The KTM is also an unconventional bike on the MotoGP grid as it is the only one built around a hybrid tubular frame and fitted with WP suspension.
Asked by Motorsport.com how he encountered the switch to the steel frame, having used a conventional aluminum chassis this season in Moto2, Gardner said: “Yeah, it’s not that bad actually.
“Obviously we had a bit of a slow start, but it happens to all rookies with MotoGP.”
“But honestly, that’s more because we don’t know what the power is like, the controls, the ride height and blah blah blah…”
“It’s a different machine. In terms of chassis, suspension, it’s still a bike.”
“So it’s not that bad, honestly. I felt pretty comfortable even though it was pretty stiff and I didn’t drive too crazy.”
“I think the bike was doing what it needed to do.”
“Obviously it’s going to get a lot harder once you start getting those faster lap times, but the bike isn’t bad.
“It probably needs to improve, but I was expecting worse to be honest, so I’m quite happy with the bike.”
(See the photos of Gardner in the Jerez test before reading on)
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Photo by: Dorna
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Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
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Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Remy Gardner is known to prefer bigger bikes, so he admits that riding the KTM is already comfortable despite having a rib injury .
However, he noticed in the test that he was feeling too much electronic interference on the bike and was struggling to skid with the rear as he would like.
“I came from dirt tracks as a kid so I was always used to skidding and the bike being sideways and turning with the rear end,” he added.
“Casey [Stoner] and my dad and all those guys would come to the dirt track that we used to do in Australia, so that certainly helps me out, especially on the big bikes.”
“On the Moto2 bike, with the Triumph it was a bit more big bike style, but it was kind of a mix between Moto2 and Moto3 when we had the CBR engine [before 2019].”
“But the Triumph had a slightly bigger style of bike and the MotoGP is the latest. So that’s fine.”
“At the moment I feel too much electronics on the bike, so it’s cutting my power too much.
“So, that’s really what we’ve been working on the last couple of days to be able to spin the bike a little bit more on initial acceleration.”
