— Gardner opens CEV campaign A rollercoaster of a weekend for Remy Gardner in Round 1 of the CEV Repsol Remy Gardner’s first CEV race of the season with Team Calvo [Laglisse] started well in practice on Friday as the team worked to fine tune the bike, and Remy got more experience on the new KTM machine. He was excited about the double-header race scheduled for Sunday, and was looking forward to developing a closer relationship with the bike and team. Round 1 started in earnest on Saturday morning as the heavens opened on the Montmelo Circuit, with the rain easing only slightly throughout the weekend. An incredible 54 riders were entered in the Moto 3 class, with only 44 places on the grid. It was clear from the first qualifying session that Remy’s inexperience on the new machine in the wet was going to be a disadvantage. After loosing the front on the first corner of the first lap, he crashed out of the session and didn’t post a time fast enough to start. Everything depended on Remy’s performance in Qualifying 2 if he was to ensure a spot on the grid. With a battered confidence and more heavy rain he slowly reduced his lap times, putting in a time good enough to qualify in 41st place on the second last lap of Q2. “I completely lost my confidence after throwing it down the road on the first lap in Q1. I was only going slow and just easing my way into it, then I just lost the front end – it was a weird crash. I’m still getting used to the bike, which is really different to the Moriwaki/Honda in the wet, and because I don’t know what happened to cause the crash I just couldn’t get my head around it. I had high expectations of myself this weekend and qualifying so far back was really a set back for me,” said Remy. Heavy rain continued to soak the Montmelo Circuit on Sunday morning, easing slightly in time for the first Moto 3 race of the day. Remy started well, edging up to 32nd place in the first lap. He slowly built his pace and was starting to ease into a comfortable rhythm before loosing the back-end and high siding to finish his race on lap 10. The weather played havoc throughout, with Remy being joined by more than half the field on the DNF board. With no great expectations for race 2, Remy once again started well, progressing to 30th in the first few laps. Finding his way and building his confidence throughout the race he steadily improved his pace and concentrated on keeping it on the track. After a few hair-raising incidents, he finally brought the Calvo KTM home in 20th position. “After the first race I just thought, I’ve got nothing to loose. I needed to do what I could to stay on the track and get as much experience in these conditions as possible. It was very cold and very wet, and I found it hard to build my confidence after my earlier crashes, and seeing other riders coming do around me. At one point a bike came flying past me on the track followed by the rider. They were so close to me it was pretty scary,” Remy said. Remy is extremely happy to be with Team Calvo [Laglisse], and said, “I really want to thank all the team for helping me through this weekend. It was hard for all of us but it was great to have their support and confidence in me.” Congratulations to the Moto 3 podium places in race 1; Wayne Ryan (GBR) 1st; Fabio Quartarro (FRA) 2nd; and former team-mate of Remy, Gabriel Rodrigo (SPA) 3rd. In race 2; Adrian Martin (SPA) 1st; Bryan Scouten (NED) 2nd; and Kyle Ryde (GBR).