GRT Yamaha’s Promising Sunday Ends in Disappointment at Navarra

22-08-2021

GRT Yamaha’s Promising Sunday Ends in Disappointment at Navarra

The seventh round of the FIM Superbike World Championship came to a close today with two more races at the Navarra circuit. With yesterday’s racing experience under their belt, the GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team riders were confident that they could continue improving their performance and bring home some strong results for the team.

Unfortunately, though, things ended up taking a much different direction. For Garrett Gerloff, the pace shown yet again in the Warm Up session, in which the American was fourth fastest. However, in the Superpole Race the American lost several spots at the start and was ninth at the chequered flag.

In the afternoon’s main event, Gerloff was able to have a solid start and he was running in the eighth position when he was taken out by Chaz Davies at the tricky Turn 9. In two weeks he will be able to look for better results at Magny-Cours, a track where he already showed his incredible talent last year.

As for Kohta Nozane, he continued showing great speed throughout Sunday but he leaves Navarra highly disappointed too. In the Superpole Race, the Japanese rider demonstrated his great speed, especially in the early laps, running seventh after a brilliant start from 15th on the grid. The 25-year-old then lost some positions but still finished in a solid 11th.

In Race 2, Nozane stalled on the grid, which meant he was forced to start 23rd and last. He did not lose focus and had an impressive early recovery which saw him run in 12th position at the end of the first lap. Eventually, he could not bring home any points because of a crash on the final lap when trying to overtake Rabat. Despite the negative end to the weekend, the Navarra round has been his best outing of the year and Nozane can be optimistic heading into the upcoming French round.

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

Garrett Gerloff - SPRC: P9 / Race 2: DNF

GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team

Today started really well with a setup change in the morning. It made me feel more comfortable with the bike and I could set my fastest time on the last lap of the Warm Up but, unfortunately, I had a poor start in the Superpole Race and I wasn’t able to improve my grid position for the main event. In the afternoon, though, I had a much better start and I was feeling good but at the entry of Turn 9 I felt a hit from behind and all of a sudden I was on the ground. I am really disappointed for the GRT Yamaha team, we were making steady progress but we couldn’t show what we really had this weekend. That said, I am ready to reset and look for a new opportunity in Magny-Cours, as that is a track I really enjoy. I look forward to getting back on my R1 there.

Kohta Nozane - SPRC: P11 / Race 2: DNF

GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team

In the Superpole Race, I had a very solid start and opening lap but some fast riders overtook me in the latter stages, in which I struggled to keep up my pace. Bautista also passed me on the very last lap, which was disappointing. Before Race 2 I felt confident but unintentionally the engine stopped on the grid and they had to delay the start. I thought I would have to start from the pit lane but luckily they let me start on the grid with the others, although in the 23rd and last position. I then had another very good start and I made my way up to 11th. My pace started to drop again in the second part of the race but not as dramatically as yesterday, especially in the last three laps. On the final lap, in Turn 5, I was pushing hard to catch up to Rabat but I tucked the front and crashed. Overall, it was still a very positive weekend and I can’t wait for Magny-Cours.