Remy Gardner: Yamaha MotoGP engine ‘nice, but a bit two-strokey’

Remy Gardner, who made his Yamaha MotoGP debut as a replacement for the injured Alex Rins at the Sachsenring, echoed the comments of Fabio Quartararo regarding the aggressive nature of the current M1.

Once famous for its smooth handling and rider-friendly style, the M1 has become much more aggressive in recent seasons, as engineers tried to squeeze out more engine performance to match the European machines.

How unforgiving? In the words of Gardner, the engine character felt almost like a two-stroke.

“The Yamahas I guess had this fame of always being a really smooth and easy bike to ride. So yeah, I found it a little bit aggressive, to be honest,” said Gardner.

“I think maybe it could be this new engine package or something, but I did find it a little bit more aggressive than I expected.

“It's quite difficult to control slides on the gas. I had quite a few moments actually at the end of the race and even in the Sprint yesterday. A few highside moments, but luckily I was as quick as a cat. Saved them”

“But yeah, I expected it a bit more smooth. But the actual engine – there’s not very much vibration and stuff coming from it, so it's nice. But it’s just a bit two-strokey, let’s say.”

Gardner finished 20th (out of 22) across the line in both Sachsenring races, with a best race lap 1.475s from the top but only a few tenths off Honda's Joan Mir.

"It'd be nice to see what I could do with more time on the bike but hopefully I've given some good feedback of what I felt with bike," Gardner said. "So hopefully Yamaha can take some positives from that."

Gardner won the 2021 Moto2 title before spending the 2022 season in MotoGP with KTM.

The Australian, son of 1987 world champion Wayne, switched to WorldSBK with Yamaha last year and has taken his first podium this year.

Gardner, currently seventh in the WorldSBK standings, will be back on his R1 for the British round at Donington Park this weekend.