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Aegerter on WorldSBK debut, 'I want to be best Yamaha'

Dominique Aegerter enjoyed a stellar end to 2022, wrapping up his double WorldSSP title before jumping aboard his new GRT Yamaha Superbike.

With the Swiss rider eager to get to grips with his new machine, even the wet and windy weather at Circuit de Jerez failed to damped his spirits as he completed 47 laps on his WorldSBK debut on Tuesday.

“It's fantastic what we achieve together,’ Aegerter reflected on his second Supersport title in as many years. “With Ten Kate Racing and Yamaha, all my sponsors, all my family, all my trainers, to help me to achieve this moment.

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“I expect last year when we take ten wins it will be really, really difficult to achieve this again and now we are here.

“Super happy with this season,” he continued. “We achieve many, many great results and to be a second time in a row world champion is something very good. We have many, many nice moments but for sure Mandalika, when we get World Champion was super happy. Balda[ssarri] was not in front of me. He crashed. My team showed me the board but I didn't see because I was in the fight. At the end I finished fourth and I was not sure where finish Balda, so I just was looking back and just when I see my brother and the team manager Kervin [Bos] coming to me on the racetrack and give me the special helmet, I know I'm world champion!”

While 2022 looked to be plain sailing for the Swiss rider, there was a major bump in the road at the final round before the summer break. A race one crash initially saw the 32-year-old declared unfit for Sunday’s action, before his condition was reviewed only for a race ban to be imposed after it became clear he ‘simulated a medical situation’ to bring out the red flag.

“My worst moment, of course was when I crashed out after 300 metres in Most and then I couldn't start on Sunday race - this was my weekend to forget,” Aegerter admitted. “When you get crashed out in the first corner, I was really disappointed. I react wrong. I was making a mistake there. Some people, they think I'm a bad person, I say sorry to them, but everybody can make some mistakes so I think I'm not a bad person. We keep focus again and this 50 points we lost there, we catch up again.”

With two Supersport titles - alongside simultaneous success in MotoE - now under his belt, 2023 sees Aegerter step up to WorldSBK. Remaining with the manufacturer that supported him in recent years, he joins Remy Gardner at GRT Yamaha, with initial action at Jerez this week kicking off his new campaign.

“Very, very happy to step up to World Superbike,” Aegerter confirmed. “I get a factory contract with Yamaha Europe so super happy to finally move up. I think I deserved. I think I show really outstanding results in these two years and to go to GRT GYTR Yamaha Racing team next year, with Remy Gardner as teammate, I think we will be a strong team with good people around, with a strong bike. Was a hard decision for sure to see if it's good to go up to Superbike, to see with ten factory riders, with multiple champions there or stay maybe in Supersport, try to fight again for the championship. But also you never know how the situation will be, if we can be again so competitive. With 32, I'm on the best moment on my life to try to see where I can be and try to see where I can go in Superbike. I like to ride big bikes and I need some new goals and this will be my goal to be in Superbike in front.

"I want to finish first in front of my teammate, best Yamaha and then we will see where it goes.

“We finished the first day of the test in wet conditions and did only half a day,” he said after stepping off the R1 on Tuesday evening. “I think we did around 47 laps, all of which were in the wet weather and also with a lot of wind. It wasn’t too cold, but it was in strange conditions. It’s difficult to get a first feeling on this kind of bike in weather like this, so let’s say it was slightly difficult to get the feeling and the setup. We changed the seat position and got used to the electronics and buttons.

“It was good to see the team for the first time and just work with them and see how they work and how I react to the changes, all of which was planned,” he continued. “The main plan for today was to check everything is working and to make small changes, give some feedback but for sure, we wanted some dry track time, but it doesn’t look so good for tomorrow. In the wet, I need some more corner speed and lean angle, but this will come with more laps and when I have more trust in the bike. We’ll also modify the electronic parts and settings.”

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