Remy Gardner says he is unsure how to feel about what could be his last ever race in MotoGP, this weekend.
The 2021 Moto2 champion lost his ride with KTM and has since inked a deal to ride a GRT-entered Yamaha in the Superbike World Championship in 2023.
The upcoming Valencia Grand Prix therefore might well be the end of his MotoGP career, after a single, frustrating season at Tech3.
He sits 23rd in the championship, tied for last among the full-time riders with team-mate Raul Fernandez, and tied also with Cal Crutchlow, who has only made five starts so far as a replacement for early retiree Andrea Dovizioso.
Even normally jovial Tech3 boss Herve Poncharal conceded that the year has “not work the way we would have all wanted” for either of Gardner or Fernandez, who collectively dominated the intermediate class last year.
However, while Poncharal still approaches the end of the season with sadness, Gardner has a mixed outlook.
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“I am unsure whether I am looking forward to it or not, but it will be my last race in MotoGP for now,” said the Sydney native.
“All I want to do is enjoy the weekend as much as I can, spend this final race with the people I love in the paddock, and try to go out with the best result possible.”
Gardner has been blunt at times about how he and Tech3 have fared, quipping at the French Grand Prix that he would rather a tornado destroy the track than have to race.
Still, the 24-year-old claims he was not expecting to be dropped from the ranks of KTM, despite its chiefs coming to have an acrimonious relationship with his personal manager, Paco Sanchez.
Matters deteriorated even further when Gardner said he was told by KTM that he was “not professional enough” to keep his ride, a claim which its Motorsports Director Pit Beirer disputed.
The 24-year-old wants prove “you-know-who” wrong if he ever returns to MotoGP, but also stated that he may enjoy WorldSBK so much that he never wants to come back.
Tech3 will field Pol Espargaro and Augusto Fernandez next year when it competes as the GasGas Factory Racing Team, with Fernandez off to RNF Aprilia.
Practice for Round 20 of the current season starts on Friday at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo.
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