What some have predicted since the beginning of the season has finally been confirmed. Remy Gardner, current Moto2 championship leader and rider for Aki Ajo’s team, will step up to MotoGP next year to ride with KTM’s satellite Tech3 team. The Aussie, who recently took his first win of the season and his second in grand prix racing, was signed on for a 1+1 year contract with KTM and has clearly proven himself worthy to make the step up in 2022.
It’s a thrilling prospect for the youngster. Gardner is quite tall for a rider and has historically scored better results on bigger motorcycles, so he has the potential to do some real damage on a MotoGP machine. He has also transformed as a rider between last year and 2021, maturing seemingly over the off-season into a cool, calm and calculated competitor. That’s not to say he doesn’t still have some fire in him – he’s already gotten into more than a few scuffles this year – but he’s got his eyes on the championship this time around.
It’s also an excellent prospect for Australian fans as a whole. While Australia has quite a decorated history in MotoGP, there’s never actually been more than a few riders to represent from down under at any given time. Jack Miller has been really kicking into gear the last couple of seasons, and prior to that we had the likes of Casey Stoner and Chris Vermeulen, but it will be fantastic to have multiple riders to support.
Why are Aussie riders so scarce compared to other countries? The main issue is a lack of grassroots support for the support. Despite having multiple world champions hailing from Australia, there isn’t really a direct feeder program to get young Aussie talent into the grand prix paddock. Sure, the Asia Talent Cup has been around for a few years now, but for the most part if a young Australian rider wants to take a shot at the world stage they must uproot their entire lives and move to Europe.
This trend is true of both Miller and Gardner. Both riders had their families pack up and move to Europe in order to compete in the grassroots competitions held there. This is particularly intriguing in the case of Gardner, who’s father is former world champion Wayne Gardner. The fact that such a prodigious name in motorsports couldn’t change the script that has been playing out for Australian talent for years now is a sign of just how difficult it must be for these riders and their families. Even Casey Stoner, who won two MotoGP titles in 2007 and 2011, had similar experiences in the early stages of his career.
Gardner’s signing also puts a whole lot of pressure on the backs of the current Tech3 riders. Both Lecuona and Petrucci have had mediocre starts to the 2021 season, and now they have confirmation that at least one of them won’t have a seat for next year. They are also both in danger thanks to Moto2 rider Raul Fernandez, who is having a similarly impressive season and could be set to join Gardner in the Tech3 squad for next year. This seems less likely, however, as MotoGP teams tend to prefer not to have both of their riders be rookies.
Because of that, my current prediction is that Petrucci will hang on to his position with Tech3. The Italian has been fairly consistently outperforming Lecuona since the season kicked off, and he has a reputation as a MotoGP race winner and former teammate to the likes of Miller and Dovizioso. The sheer amount of experience he brings to the table should help his case quite a bit, and partnered with the youthful Gardner they have the potential to form quite a formidable team.
Regardless of what happens next in the rollercoaster that is contract season, one thing is certain: we will have two Australian MotoGP riders in 2022. And that is reason enough to be very, very excited.
Solomon Talks Bikes 