The Australian squeezed into the top ten duri💎ng his rookie season after a very strong end to the campaign. 

Gardner was only outside t𒐪he top ten in two of the last ten races, which included two fourth place results at Portimao and Jerez. 

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Gardner then followed that up by topping the post-season Jerez test ahead of rookie Nicolo Bulღega.

“It was a great test,” Gardner told WorldSBK.com. “Great way to end the se🍎ason. It hadn’t been the easiest season so to end on a high was very positive. 

“The pace with the ✱race tyre was really good and also 🌳with the qualifying tyre it was a great lap. 

“Still had a bit more that was left on the🐭 table. I could have perfected the lap a little bit more but was happy with the way we ended. The new parts seemed to be working really well. 

“There’s a little bit more edge grip and easier to keep a bit more corner speed. You can open the throttle a bit earlier. For me it 🍒was easier to keep the rhythm that way.”

Gardner had a stronger end to the sea෴son than ℱteam-mate Dominique Aegerter, however, a return to form at the final round allowed Aegerter to hold off Gardner for P8 in the standings.

Seven points separated the 🦋two Yamaha riders, but Gardner is looking to take his challenge higher 🌜up the standings in 2024. 

Gardner added: “We finished top ten in the championship so obviously, th꧑e next step would be to fight for the top five in the championship next year. 

“If we have a little bit of luck on our side and wor🏅k quite well ♉I think it’s achievable.”