Remy Gardner and Stefano Manzi secured valuable championship points in Race 2 at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, concluding the Portuguese round of the 2026 WorldSBK season with strong progress for the GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team.

Following the morning Warm-Up session, Gardner approached the Superpole Race with confidence. However, as he almost collided with other riders at the start dropped him to 21st on the opening lap. Despite a solid recovery effort, he finished 16th in the 10-lap sprint, resulting in a 12th-place grid start for Race 2.

In the final race of the weekend, the Australian made a strong start and maintained his position early on. Demonstrating consistent pace throughout the 20-lap contest, Gardner fought within the top ten for much of the race. He ultimately crossed the line in 10th place, securing a valuable top-10 finish and underlining the team’s progress over the weekend.

Manzi, competing in his rookie WorldSBK season and celebrating his 27th birthday, also showed encouraging improvement. After a challenging Superpole Race, where he finished 17th, the Italian rider delivered an impressive comeback in Race 2. Starting from 17th on the grid, the reigning WorldSSP Champion displayed strong race pace to finish 11th, gaining further points and continuing his adaptation to the WorldSBK category.

The GYTR GRT Yamaha duo will return to action on 17–19 April at the TT Circuit Assen for Round 3 of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship.

Remy Gardner – Superpole Race: P16 / Race 2: P10
“It was a solid way to end the weekend with a strong Race 2. Unfortunately, in the Superpole Race I got caught up with other riders and dropped back to 21st within the first corners. In such a short race, it’s always difficult to recover positions. In Race 2, I made a much better start and stayed close to the group ahead. The race pace was competitive, and I was able to fight inside the top ten, finishing P10. It’s not exactly where we want to be, but there are definitely positives to take from this weekend, though the long race was tough physically. Thankfully we’ll have some time to rest and be fit again as I could start to push again. We’ve made good progress and can head to Assen with confidence—a track where we’ve traditionally been strong.”

Stefano Manzi – Superpole Race: P17 / Race 2: P11
“Overall, it was a positive Sunday. The Superpole Race was quite demanding, and we couldn’t fully show our pace over just 10 laps. However, Race 2 confirmed that we are making steps forward, which is encouraging. Our race pace was solid, and we can use this weekend as a foundation to keep improving. We know there is still work to do, but we’ll continue pushing to close the gap. Now the focus shifts to Assen, a track where the team has performed well in the past, and hopefully we can be competitive there.”