Up to the sixth lap in the Superpole race over just ten laps, Yamaha race director Andrea Dosoli proudly watched on the pit monitor how the Superbike rookies Dominique Aegerter and Remy Gardner from the GRT Junior Team took the stage in fifth and sixth place.
Then, as the pack of riders thundered towards the notorious first hairpin, his eyes widened with shock: Gardner overdid the braking and dug into Aegerter’s flank, spelling the inglorious end for both Yamaha riders.
Aegerter took the incident from the sporting side and ticked it off as a normal racing accident, without holding a grudge against Gardner. The race control commissioners saw things differently and sentenced Gardner to a long-lap penalty in the second race in the afternoon for risky driving. Nevertheless, the Australian achieved a respectable tenth place.
“I started from the back, served my penalty, then tried everything to catch up and burned my tyres. They literally fell apart when they crossed the finish line,” Gardner said of his way to the top 10 finish. “God knows it wasn’t the result we were hoping for. Sorry for the mistake in the Superpole race, which not only cost us the result in the sprint but also a good position in the actual race. It wasn’t a good day.”
In the incident with Aegerter, he didn’t slow down, but simply didn’t expect the Swiss to appear in front of him. “The guys in front of me braked very early at this point, as did I, and at the beginning of this sixth lap I thought: You know what, you try it now! I really didn’t expect Domi to come into this corner so quickly and was half a bike length away from him on the inside lane. Then we collided.”
But the Australian also saw its positive side in the day. “Being able to attack in the Superpole race without considering their lifespan was great fun. After a few laps, as the tires started to wear out, I was getting closer and closer to the front. Without this mistake, I could have fought for the podium,” he summed up. “We have the necessary speed, and that is positive. I only had a few tests and it’s the first race weekend. I’m still learning, understanding and getting the best out of the package and tires. We will learn from our mistakes and continue to improve in the future.”
| Result Superbike World Championship Phillip Island, race 2: | |||
| Pos | driver | Motorrad | Diff |
| 1. | Alvaro Bautista (E) | Ducati | |
| 2. | Michael Rinaldi (I) | Ducati | + 6,191 sec |
| 3. | Andrea Locatelli (I) | Yamaha | + 9,099 |
| 4. | Axel Bassani (I) | Ducati | + 11,680 |
| 5. | Philipp Öttl (D) | Ducati | + 12,020 |
| 6. | Iker Lecuona (L) | Honda | + 13,701 |
| 7. | Dominique Aegerter (CH) | Yamaha | + 14,316 |
| 8. | Jonathan Rea (GB) | Kawasaki | + 14,753 |
| 9. | Danilo Petrucci (I) | Ducati | + 18,745 |
| 10. | Remy Gardner (AUS) | Yamaha | + 21,331 |
| 11. | Xavier Vierge (E) | Honda | + 21,500 |
| 12. | Michael vd Mark (NL) | BMW | + 29,790 |
| 13. | Scott Redding (GB) | BMW | + 34,265 |
| 14. | Garrett Gerloff (USA) | BMW | + 34,444 |
| 15. | Loris Baz (F) | BMW | + 34,846 |
| 16. | Lorenzo Baldassarri (I) | Yamaha | + 45,568 |
| 17. | Hafiz Syahrin (MAL) | Honda | + > 1 min |
| 18. | Oliver Koenig (CZ) | Kawasaki | + > 1 min |
| 19. | Eric Granado (BR) | Honda | + > 1 min |
| out | Alex Lowes (GB) | Kawasaki | |
| out | Toprak Razgatlioglu (TR) | Yamaha | |
| out | Tom Sykes (GB) | Kawasaki | |
| Result Superbike World Championship Phillip Island, Superpole-Race: | |||
| Pos | driver | Motorrad | Diff |
| 1. | Alvaro Bautista (E) | Ducati | |
| 2. | Michael Rinaldi (I) | Ducati | + 2,462 sec |
| 3. | Toprak Razgatlioglu (TR) | Yamaha | + 3,060 |
| 4. | Alex Lowes (GB) | Kawasaki | + 3,833 |
| 5. | Andrea Locatelli (I) | Yamaha | + 3,893 |
| 6. | Philipp Öttl (D) | Ducati | + 4,215 |
| 7. | Jonathan Rea (GB) | Kawasaki | + 4,952 |
| 8. | Iker Lecuona (L) | Honda | + 7,140 |
| 9. | Axel Bassani (I) | Ducati | + 11,295 |
| 10. | Michael vd Mark (NL) | BMW | + 11,843 |
| 11. | Danilo Petrucci (I) | Ducati | + 13,480 |
| 12. | Xavier Vierge (E) | Honda | + 13,888 |
| 13. | Loris Baz (F) | BMW | + 14,413 |
| 14. | Scott Redding (GB) | BMW | + 16,795 |
| 15. | Garrett Gerloff (USA) | BMW | + 17,891 |
| 16. | Lorenzo Baldassarri (I) | Yamaha | + 26,122 |
| 17. | Oliver Koenig (CZ) | Kawasaki | + 32,457 |
| 18. | Eric Granado (BR) | Honda | + 32,739 |
| 19. | Hafiz Syahrin (MAL) | Honda | + 32,949 |
| 20. | Tom Sykes (GB) | Kawasaki | + > 1 min |
| out | Dominique Aegerter (CH) | Yamaha | |
| out | Remy Gardner (AUS) | Yamaha | |
| Result Superbike World Championship Phillip Island, race 1: | |||
| Pos | driver | Motorrad | Diff |
| 1. | Alvaro Bautista (E) | Ducati | |
| 2. | Jonathan Rea (GB) | Kawasaki | + 3,471 sec |
| 3. | Toprak Razgatlioglu (TR) | Yamaha | + 6,168 |
| 4. | Andrea Locatelli (I) | Yamaha | + 16,789 |
| 5. | Axel Bassani (I) | Ducati | + 20,918 |
| 6. | Iker Lecuona (L) | Honda | + 27,015 |
| 7. | Xavier Vierge (E) | Honda | + 30,625 |
| 8. | Danilo Petrucci (I) | Ducati | + 31,000 |
| 9. | Scott Redding (GB) | BMW | + 37,447 |
| 10. | Garrett Gerloff (USA) | BMW | + 42,591 |
| 11. | Philipp Öttl (D) | Ducati | + 44,142 |
| 12. | Remy Gardner (AUS) | Yamaha | + 48,833 |
| 13. | Dominique Aegerter (CH) | Yamaha | + 51,617 |
| 14. | Michael Rinaldi (I) | Ducati | + 55,010 |
| 15. | Hafiz Syahrin (MAL) | Honda | + > 1 min |
| 16. | Eric Granado (BR) | Honda | + > 1 min |
| 17. | Lorenzo Baldassarri (I) | Yamaha | + > 1 min |
| 18. | Loris Baz (F) | BMW | + 1 Rd. |
| out | Alex Lowes (GB) | Kawasaki | |
| out | Oliver Koenig (CZ) | Kawasaki | |
| out | Tom Sykes (GB) | Kawasaki | |
| out | Michael vd Mark (NL) | BMW | |
| Superbike World Championship 2023: status after 3 of 36 races | |||
| Pos | driver | Motorrad | Points |
| 1. | Alvaro Bautista (E) | Ducati | 62 |
| 2. | Andrea Locatelli (I) | Yamaha | 34 |
| 3. | Jonathan Rea (GB) | Kawasaki | 31 |
| 4. | Michael Rinaldi (I) | Ducati | 31 |
| 5. | Axel Bassani (I) | Ducati | 25 |
| 6. | Toprak Razgatlioglu (TR) | Yamaha | 23 |
| 7. | Iker Lecuona (L) | Honda | 22 |
| 8. | Philipp Öttl (D) | Ducati | 20 |
| 9. | Danilo Petrucci (I) | Ducati | 15 |
| 10. | Xavier Vierge (E) | Honda | 14 |
| 11. | Dominique Aegerter (CH) | Yamaha | 12 |
| 12. | Scott Redding (GB) | BMW | 10 |
| 13. | Remy Gardner (AUS) | Yamaha | 10 |
| 14. | Garrett Gerloff (USA) | BMW | 8 |
| 15. | Alex Lowes (GB) | Kawasaki | 6 |
| 16. | Michael vd Mark (NL) | BMW | 4 |
| 17. | Hafiz Syahrin (MAL) | Honda | 1 |
| 18. | Loris Baz (F) | BMW | 1 |