GRT Yamaha Denied Podium Opportunity After Gerloff Turn 1 Incident

25-07-2021

GRT Yamaha Denied Podium Opportunity After Gerloff Turn 1 Incident

The GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team were denied a podium opportunity in the final race of the weekend at TT Circuit Assen, when rider Garrett Gerloff collected Toprak Razgatlıoğlu as they headed through Turn 1, for which he picked up a ride through penalty.

The American had only run three laps in the Warm Up, but rose from the back of the grid to finish in eighth position in the Superpole Race, giving him an improved grid slot for Race 2. After a fantastic getaway off the line, Gerloff attempted to overtake the leader Razgatlıoğlu in Turn 1, but the two made contact and the Turkish rider crashed out of the race.

Following the incident - caused by his mistake - Gerloff was handed a ride through penalty, which relegated him to last place yet again. In the rush to make up as many positions as possible in the final few laps, he fell at Turn 9, ending his already disappointing race. Afterwards, he was apologetic towards both Razgatlıoğlu and Yamaha, the victims of his mistake on the first lap. He now has less than two weeks to put the negative Assen weekend behind him and reset his focus, before heading to the next round at the Autodrom Most.

It was a much better day for Kohta Nozane, who concluded his comeback weekend in convincing fashion with a solid Race 2. After a technical issue in the Warm Up, the rookie was disappointed by his pace during the Superpole Race and decided to make major changes to the setup of his Yamaha R1 ahead of the afternoon’s feature race.

The adjustments proved effective and Nozane’s pace vastly improved in the first part of Race 2. In the latter stages, though, he was unable to stay close to the group of riders he was battling with, due to the pain in his still recovering right middle finger. At the finish line the Japanese was 12th, but he aims to get much closer to the other Yamaha riders starting from the upcoming Czech round.

For full SPRC results, click here.
For full Race 2 results, click here.

Garrett Gerloff - SPRC: P8 / R2: DNF

GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team

I'm devastated and I can only apologise to Toprak and to Yamaha for today. I got a good start from the third row of the grid, I felt the contact in turn one, but I didn't realise it was Toprak until I looked back. I'm sorry for him, as he paid a big price for my mistake, but also for Yamaha, who have worked tirelessly to mount a championship challenge. I can only apologise to both, although I am well aware that this won't change the outcome.

Kohta Nozane – SPRC: P15 / R2: P12

GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team

Today my Superpole Race was not that good and I discussed with the team about how we could make some set-up improvements for Race 2. These changes worked and I was very happy, my time in the race was quicker than my qualifying time. Unfortunately, my finger is not recovered 100 per cent still and with 16 laps to go I found it very difficult to keep my pace until the end, so it was tough to keep the rider behind. In the end, I finished 12th but of course at Yamaha everyone is riding the same bike, so when I see the others, I think that even though I’m a rookie, I have to convince myself to aim higher. To the next race in Czech Republic, it’s the first time for everyone, so there I hope to be able to reach another level to get closer to the other Yamaha riders.