Gerloff Recovers to Ninth in Portimao Race 2

09-10-2022

Gerloff Recovers to Ninth in Portimao Race 2

GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team’s Garrett Gerloff recovered to a ninth-place result in Portimao’s second FIM Superbike World Championship feature race at the Algarve International Circuit, with Kohta Nozane outside the points.

In the Superpole Race, Gerloff showed promising speed but unfortunately fell after challenging inside the top nine positions. His Japanese teammate enjoyed a decent start, but was unable to make significant progress, ending 20th.

Afterwards, in the warmer second race, Gerloff get off the line well but light contact dropped him to 17th place at the end of the first lap. The 27-year-old managed his tyres well and showed blistering pace towards the latter stages, eventually finishing ninth as the Top Independent Rider.

On the other side of the garage, Nozane enjoyed a decent getaway and fought his way into top 15 contention. The Japanese Ace battled with those around, but struggled with the tyre wear in the final laps, eventually finishing 21st.

The GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team will now travel to Argentina in two weeks for the tenth round of the 2022 FIM Superbike World Championship.

Garrett Gerloff

GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team Position: SPRC – DNF / Race 2 – P9 (Top Independent)

“The crash in the Superpole Race was a real shame. I had a good feeling on the bike and I strongly believe we could have had a strong result, which would’ve meant a better starting position for Race 2. Anyway, I had a good getaway in the second race but someone forced me wide and I had to recover from 17th. We had really good pace and at least we scored a decent amount of points, which is not too bad considering. I’m a bit disappointed because I believe we could do more, but we’ll take away the positives. I’d like to say a massive thank to the guys for rebuilding the bike after the sprint race, they did a super job once again.”

Kohta Nozane

GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team Position: SPRC – P20 / Race 2 – P21

“Overall it was a tough weekend. Things went a little bit better today but I couldn’t make it into the top 15. We’ll check the data to be more consistent in Argentina. We know our potential is higher and I’m eager to prove it for myself and the team to finish this year in the best way possible.”