Phillip Island test ends with Oli Bayliss on the pace and Remy Gardner focused on recovery
Remy Gardner returned to action at Phillip Island on 16–17 February as the GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team completed its final pre-season test ahead of the 2026 WorldSBK season opener at the same venue on 20–22 February.
Across the two days, the Australian concentrated on building confidence with the Yamaha R1 and working through his programme rather than chasing outright times. Gardner logged 61 laps on Day 1, setting a best of 1’31.350, before continuing to evaluate components and refine settings on Day 2, improving to a 1’30.269 by the end of the test.
Reflecting on the final pre-season running, Gardner remained focused on recovery and momentum heading into race week.
“It hasn’t been the easiest couple of days, but I knew it would be tricky here. I’m still struggling a bit physically, but it should improve during the week, so I’m staying confident. I’m happy we were able to finalise some work on the setup and try a few things ahead of the race weekend. We now have two days to recover and then we’ll be back, so let’s stay positive.”
Oli Bayliss also ended the Phillip Island test on an upbeat note as he and PTR Triumph Factory Racing continued preparations for the opening WorldSSP round. The Australian finished the Official Australia Test with the second fastest WorldSSP time overall, a 1’32.541s, underlining his strong pace at his home circuit heading into race week.
While conditions and tyre execution complicated parts of the day, Bayliss still left the test with encouragement after a late dry opportunity allowed him to confirm a key step forward in feel and direction.
“It was another positive day here at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit for day two of testing. We struggled a little in the morning session trying to extract a lap time on new tyres. While it didn’t quite come together, we understood what was happening and what we needed to adjust for the second session”, Oli said.
“Unfortunately, the weather rolled in and limited our track time for the rest of the day. That said, we managed to find a short five-minute window in the dry and put together a 1:32.559 — good enough for second overall on combined times. More importantly, it confirmed the changes we made were a step in the right direction and that the bike felt better underneath me.”
“We’ve now got a solid base setting heading into race weekend, which is a big positive. I’m really looking forward to getting round one underway.”
Racing for Round 1 at Phillip Island kicks off officially on Friday Feb 20th.
