Australian Remy Gardner’s role as part-time replacement in the Tasca Moto2 team has become permanent, with the 18-year-old set to see out the season after two ‘one-off’ rides at the previous two races at Catalunya and Assen.
He rewarded the team with four points for 12th place to add to the single point he scored in Catalunya. “It was fixed up during this weekend,” he said, adding that he would now abandon his Spanish CEV Moto2 championship campaign, where he had already won a race.
The MotoGP future of Moto2 champion Johann Zarco’s was also confirmed on race eve in Germany, with the announcement that the 26-year-old Frenchman had signed with the Monster-backed Tech 3 Yamaha team. Zarco will join fellow Moto2 rider Jonas Folger, making two class rookies in the sole satellite Yamaha squad, owned by French IRTA president Herve Poncharal.
“With Tech 3 and with this nice Yamaha bike, I am just so happy,” said Zarco, in a rare moment of economy of speech.
With Aleix Espargaró already confirmed as second Aprilia rider after losing his Suzuki seat to Alex Rins, this is almost the final piece of the who-goes-where jigsaw for 2017. However, both current Aprilia riders Álvaro Bautista and Stefan Bradl (both of them former world champions) are still available, as are seats in both Avintia and Aspar Ducati teams.
