GRT Yamaha’s Gerloff Recovers from Last to Sixth in Assen Race 1

24-07-2021

GRT Yamaha’s Gerloff Recovers from Last to Sixth in Assen Race 1

Having shown promising pace on the first day at TT Circuit Assen, GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team’s Garrett Gerloff climbed from the back of the FIM Superbike World Championship grid to finish sixth, less than five seconds away from the podium places.

After going fifth in Free Practice 3, Gerloff was indeed heading into the Tissot Superpole aiming to qualify close to the front of the grid, but a fall on his first flying lap relegated him to the back. With his day already compromised, he did his best to recover as many positions as possible in Race 1, eventually finishing an impressive sixth thanks to a fantastic pace which allowed him to be faster than the eventual race-winner in the final stages.

After clocking in a solid lap time in FP3 to place 15th, 2021 rookie Kohta Nozane only managed to qualify 18th, and his race ended in the gravel at Turn 17 while he was fighting for some important points.

For full Race 1 results, click here.

Garrett Gerloff: P6

GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team

Saturday was more difficult than I had hoped. Unfortunately, I keep having things go wrong during the crucial moments instead of during practice, which makes it a lot more difficult on myself because the GRT Yamaha team always gives me an awesome bike. The Yamaha R1 felt so consistent and super fast here and my times are really quick, but having to start from the back makes it a lot more difficult. I am happy to be in the top six, but I know we can do better than that, so tomorrow I will try to have a good Superpole Race in order to get a better starting spot for Race 2. We for sure had podium pace today, I will just try to put the pieces together tomorrow. During the race I was totally focused on carving my way through the field. There were a couple of circumstances in which I lost time in the fight with other riders, but that’s how it goes. If it rains tomorrow, I will do my best to work on the right setup for the conditions, because the target is to have a good Superpole Race in order to start closer to the front in Race 2. The weather seems to always be crazy though, and it may actually not rain at all, so we will see how it goes and just adapt and go from there.

Kohta Nozane: DNF

GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team

I had my worst qualifying result so far this year and I was unable to match my pace from Free Practice. In the race, I was able to get a good start and make up some positions, which was good and positive. I made a few mistakes and kept losing and gaining positions, it was quite an unstable race for me. In the end, I fell, and this wasn’t the way I wanted to end my Saturday. Tomorrow, there are two more races and it could be raining. If it does rain, it’s not going to be too stressful on my finger, which is positive. I will give it my best and move on from today’s disappointment.