MotoGP at risk for Gardner: Fernandez chases his Tech3 seat

We barely have time to publish this article and next year’s MotoGP takes yet another new turn. A door to the top class may open for Augusto Fernandez, partly because he’s on track to score the Moto2 title, but also for another important reason, in that Remy Gardner may leave his Tech3 KTM to somebody else.

Remy Gardner and MotoGP: "Every race, an injury"

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The Australian himself had this to say after his umpteenth crash and subsequent after-effects. That was at Barcelona, with nine of the 2022 races already completed. The current Moto2 champion is clearly not happy with his performance as a MotoGP rookie.

In fact, if we look at the standings after Silverstone and prior to Austria, Remy places almost last, with only team-mate Fernandez having done worse. Gardner has 9 points, the Spaniard 5. Stefan Bradl, Michele Pirro and Lorenzo Savadori all have zero, but they are test riders who are focused on other things rather than their position in the championship.

Considering he’s just 24, Gardner would prefer to avoid damaging a career that has already proved so promising. Hence, his manager is talking to various teams in the intermediate class. And if they were to find a seat, this would mean that there would be a vacancy in Hervé Poncharal’s garage, which could well be filled by another Spaniard.

Augusto Fernandez, listen to us!

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First he’ll need to win the title and then comes the step up in category. As we’ve said, Augusto is highly regarded by MotoGP teams, but it remains to be seen whether the top class has room for him. Only if he were to lift the Moto2 trophy come the end of the year, and if a spot were to become available at Tech3.

Because we know that Raul Fernandez will move to Aprilia RNF, and now we know that Remy Gardner is in doubt. In fact, we’d go as far as to say that the Australian already has one foot out the door, as it would take a miracle for him to remain in 2023. By which we mean an incredible result.

Something that, for now, doesn’t look to be on the horizon in Austria, which will take place at the Red Bull Ring, the home track of KTM. Next year’s factory squad will comprise Brad Binder and Jack Miller, while Pol Espargarò will return to Tech3, alongside new arrival Augusto. That’s if the two conditions cited above come to pass.

Translated by Heather Watson

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