Remy Gardner, Dominique Aegerter to make WorldSBK debuts in Jerez test

The second WorldSBK test of the month at Jerez will see Yamaha represented with both GRT rookies and the Pata Yamaha duo of Toprak Razgatlioglu and Andrea Locatelli.

Razgatlioglu lost his world championship crown to Alvaro Bautista in 2022 and will be making his first appearance since the season-finale at Phillip Island.

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For Gardner and Aegerter, the two rookies will be aboard similar R1 machinery as the factory riders. 

Aegerter, who won the WorldSSP championship for the second consecutive season, will be new to a Superbike but not a 1000cc machine after having tested Suzuki’s MotoGP bike at Misano earlier this year. 

The two Yamaha men won’t be the only full-time rookies making their debut as Eric Granado will also be in action for MIE Honda. The Brazilian has previously competed for the team after stepping in for the final round of 2020.

Set for his second season in WorldSBK, Hafizh Syahrin will also be taking part in the three-day test alongside Granado. 

Both Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge will be on-track for the factory Honda team as they look to confirm their recent upgrades. 

Despite the factory BMW team electing not to take part in this week’s test, Bonovo Action BMW will be in attendance as Garrett Gerloff makes his debut aboard the M 1000 RR.

After three seasons with GRT Yamaha, Gerloff switched to Bonovo alongside Loris Baz who will also be in action as he gets set for his second season with the team.

Both Gerloff and Baz will be riding an M 1000 RR that has a new fairing and new winglets to test. 

Should weather conditions affect track time then a similar scenario as last week’s test could take place, where teams reduce their running in order to save testing days for later in the season. 

The three-day (private) WorldSBK test gets under on Tuesday.