Remy Gardner and Stefano Manzi returned to action today at the Autodromo do Estoril, Portugal, for the first race day of the eleventh round of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship. The GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team pushed hard throughout Saturday, with Gardner securing a point-finish in 15th place, while an unfortunate late-race crash ended Manzi’s hopes of a positive result.

Following Free Practice 3, Gardner headed into the Tissot Superpole session looking to improve his starting position. Despite pushing hard, the Australian was unable to climb higher than 16th, setting a best time of 1’35.407. Later, in Race 1, the #87 rider made a decent start and maintained a consistent pace throughout the 21-lap contest, despite still dealing with the effects of his recent left-hand injury. Battling until the chequered flag, Gardner crossed the line in 15th place to secure a valuable championship point.

On the other side of the garage, it was a frustrating Saturday for teammate Stefano Manzi. After a challenging Superpole session saw him qualify 20th with a time of 1’35.659, the Italian made an excellent start to Race 1, gaining six positions on the opening lap and immediately putting himself in contention for the top 10. The 2025 WorldSSP Champion showed promising pace and fought hard throughout the race, but unfortunately crashed in the closing laps, bringing his race to an early end.

The GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team will return to action tomorrow for the final day of racing in Portugal. The Superpole Race is scheduled for 11:10, followed by Race 2 at 15:30 local time.

Remy Gardner – Superpole: P16 / Race 1: P15
“It was a tricky race and a challenging Saturday overall, especially considering my recent left-hand injury. Nevertheless, I pushed hard and did my best to secure the best possible result. All things considered, our pace wasn’t too bad. Unfortunately, we were missing a little speed in Superpole, which would have helped us in the race, but we fought hard in Race 1 and securing a point in these conditions is a decent result. Of course, we’re not where we want to be, but we need to take things step by step. We’ll look ahead to tomorrow and see what we can achieve.”

Stefano Manzi – Superpole: P20 / Race 1: DNF
“It’s a shame to end the race this way. We made some adjustments between qualifying and Race 1 that helped my performance, and my feeling on the bike was much better than it had been in Superpole. I enjoyed battling with the group throughout the race. Unfortunately, I crashed in the closing laps, which is disappointing, but we need to focus on the positives and the improvements we made today. These give us confidence heading into tomorrow. We still have two races to go, and we know we have the potential to fight for better results.”