Carter Thompson gave Australia reason to celebrate with a superb WorldSPB win, while Remy Gardner’s weekend ended with a fractured hand and Oli Bayliss’ WorldSSP return was derailed by a costly fall
Remy Gardner’s tough Cremona weekend ended prematurely after the Australian was ruled out of Sunday’s WorldSBK action with a fractured left hand.
Gardner had already been on the back foot after a painful crash in FP2 on Friday, which left him 16th overall and the second-best Yamaha rider at the end of the day after losing valuable track time. But he responded strongly on Saturday, climbing to 11th in Superpole and emerging as Yamaha’s leading rider.
He then made an excellent start in Race 1, jumping to ninth on the opening lap before digging in to defend his position as the race wore on. Still sore from the previous day’s fall, Gardner fought through the pain barrier to bring the bike home in 12th.
“In Race One, I had a very good getaway, finding myself in a good position, and I tried to defend as much as I could to maintain my place,” Gardner said on Saturday. “Unfortunately, I’m still feeling a bit sore from yesterday, so it wasn’t easy to push, but it was a decent result in the end.”
After the race, Gardner presented to the medical centre with worsening symptoms from the Friday crash. Further checks confirmed a fracture of the fifth metacarpal bone in his left hand, and he was declared unfit to ride on Sunday.
“Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to ride today,” Gardner said. “Following my crash in FP2, I was feeling okay and ready to race, so I lined up for Race 1 yesterday after also taking part in the Superpole session.
“Unfortunately, things got worse during the race and I started to feel more pain in my left hand, which didn’t improve afterwards. I then underwent further assessment by the medical team, and this morning I was diagnosed with a fracture of the fifth metacarpal and declared unfit to race.
“I’m sorry about the situation, but now I need to fully focus on my recovery, as we’ll be back on track in two weeks. I’m confident I’ll be able to compete in Estoril, so let’s stay positive and see how the hand progresses. I’m looking forward to making a quick recovery and getting back on the bike.”
Gardner now sits 17th in the championship ahead of the penultimate round of the 2026 season at Estoril in Portugal.
WorldSSP
Oli Bayliss endured a challenging return to the FIM Supersport World Championship at Cremona, while teammate Tom Booth-Amos claimed a podium for PTR Triumph Factory Racing.
Back on the world stage after missing Magny-Cours, Bayliss made a promising start by qualifying 11th. In the opening race, Oli was quickly in the fight inside the top 10 before a red flag interrupted proceedings on lap three.
When the race restarted over 13 laps, Bayliss’ hopes took a major hit with an opening-lap highside that put him out of contention, meaning he would start race two from 14th on the grid. A difficult opening phase to Race 2 jostled Oli outside the points scoring positions before he managed to claw his way back up the order to eventually finished 13th, while teammate Booth-Amos battled Valentin Debise and Albert Arenas for the win before finishing third – his sixth podium of the season.
“Obviously not really the weekend we wanted,” Bayliss said after the race. “The speed in race two from mid-race onwards was quite good but after the crash yesterday, getting knocked around a little bit in the first laps, it made it quite difficult and especially at a track like this where everyone’s so close it’s not easy to gain back the time that you have lost. We have got a good direction to go for in Estoril and hopefully we can make it count.”
WorldSPB
Carter Thompson enjoyed an outstanding weekend at Cremona, topping both Free Practice and Superpole on his latest-spec Yamaha R7 before converting that speed into a race win and valuable championship points.
In Race 1, Thompson finished fifth in a tightly packed six-rider lead group. He then delivered in emphatic style in Race 2, breaking clear for a runaway victory. The result leaves him third in the standings heading to the final round at Jerez, although he is now out of title contention.
“In Race Two I was able to do my laps and do my lines so we were able to go away,” Thompson said. “I am not sure why. I was able to do a bit of testing at Cremona as our team is only based 1.5 hours from here. We had a good set-up coming into here, but we had to fine tune a few things.
“I just gelled with the track and gelled with the bike this weekend. We have always struggled in the group so I needed to get clear track and I did a lot of my riding in practice and qualifying by myself just to try and do my own thing all weekend. I was working by myself and in the end it worked out good.
“For us the new R7 in the middle of the season was a good step. We are able to work with the suspension, and find a set-up easier for us. It is just easier to work with, more forgiving when you ride. With the old bike we struggled with the very small working range with the set-up so we were able to find a better set-up on the new one and we’re making big improvements.
“Not exactly fixed for next year. We are talking, but we are pretty close to figuring out what we are doing next year. But the focus is on Jerez now.”
Taiyo Aksu had a tougher meeting but continued to gain experience. He qualified 25th and finished 24th in Race 1, just ahead of 2025 WorldSSP300 champion Benat Fernandez. After being penalised six grid positions for riding too slowly in warm-up, Aksu recovered to finish 21st in Race 2.
“Not much to say but we were chasing set-up from day one,” Aksu said. “Some issues outside my control that held me back from doing a lot better than what I did. Thanks to the team for putting the work in. I am quite happy with how I am riding, and looking forward to Jerez.”
