Remy Gardner considered retirement before first WorldSBK podium

Remy Gardner has achieved his first podium in a World Superbike Championship race, revealing that he once considered retiring from the sport. 

Finishing third in Race 2 at the Assen circuit in the Netherlands, Gardner said “this third position definitely feels like a win to me, it was so frustrating to miss the podium so many times”.

The Australian piloted his Yamaha to fourth in the Superpole Race, before battling the sport’s elite in Race 2 at ‘The Cathedral of Speed’ for third place as rain began to fall. 

Gardner found himself as high as second early in the race, but BMW’s Toprak Razgatlioglu eventually passed him. The Aussie then held off former GP rider Andrea Iannone and Andrea Locatelli to claim third spot. 

“Finally, yeah,” Gardner said after the race. “We had a really tough year last year even though there were glimpses of hope. But finally everything has come together. We have had an amazing weekend and have been fast all weekend.”

The Australian young gun is the son of former 500cc World Champion Wayne Gardner. Remy won the Moto2 World Championship in 2021, before signing with KTM for the MotoGP class for 2022. But when results didn’t go his way, he found himself out of favour with the Austrian firm and was sacked. He then found a seat with the Yamaha Factory squad for the 2023 WorldSBK season. 

Gardner touched on his battles in his post-race interview, revealing that he considered retiring. “It has been really hard, especially with how my MotoGP career went,” he said.

“But I’ve always believed in myself and I’ve kept fighting and pushing, because there was one point where I could maybe retire and do something else. I think I’ve put in so much work, but finally, good things come to the people who work hard and it finally pays off.”

Gardner now sits 8th in the championship race, with the next event to be held at Misano, Italy from June 14-16.