Superbike: Remy Gardner, with a fracture, revisits it: "There was something strange on the track

Remy Gardner leaves Cremona with his left hand in a cast and a nagging doubt he can’t shake. The Yamaha rider was one of many to crash in the tenth round of the 2026 World Superbike Championship, but his spill had the most serious consequences. And according to the Australian, there was something off about Turn 1. Below are the images of the ruinous crash.

The incident happened at the start of the second free practice session, as reconstructed by Speedweek. A seemingly harmless front-end washout through the double sweeper of Turns 1 and 2: Gardner and his R1 slid gently along the asphalt, then the bike dug into the gravel, reared up, and flipped. The rider stayed down for a few moments, a bit dazed, then walked away under his own power. The Yamaha, however, was so damaged that repairs during the session were impossible.

"In the first practice we tried several tire options and the plan was to do the same in the second session, focusing on race distance. Unfortunately, I crashed right away, at the start of the session, in Turn 1," Gardner explained. Then the suspicion: "I had the feeling something wasn’t quite right with the track. Just before me, Yari [Montella] had gone down in the same corner! After my crash, the red flag came out."

The surprising thing is that the 2021 Moto2 world champion completed Race 1, over a distance of 23 laps, finishing in twelfth place. Only after the checkered flag, on Saturday afternoon, did the diagnosis arrive: a fracture of the fifth metacarpal in his left hand.

"I got a great start, I was in a good position and defended as best I could to hold my spot. With the pain, though, it wasn’t easy to open the throttle, but in the end it was a decent result," said the 28-year-old from Sydney, currently eighteenth in the championship. "Unfortunately during the race my condition worsened and I felt more and more pain in my left hand, which didn’t subside afterwards either. I was examined again by the medical team, a fracture of the fifth metacarpal was diagnosed, and I was declared unfit." His hand was put in a cast and Gardner had to skip Sunday’s racing at Cremona.

The next round is next weekend in Portugal, and the Yamaha rider has no intention of missing it. "Now I have to focus completely on recovery, because in two weeks we’ll be back on track. I’m confident I can start at Estoril, so let’s stay positive and see how the hand evolves. I can’t wait to heal quickly and get back on the bike."

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