After riding through the pain of a lower back injury in the first attempt to run Race One on Saturday
at Balaton Park, Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team), was forced to withdraw from
Sunday’s races.
Gerloff underwent several examinations in hospital on the night of Saturday 26 July, and
fortunately it was found that he had suffered no serious injuries in a crash that saw seven riders off their machines at the same corner.
A truly epic gritty performance in the eventual 20-lap Race One around the 4.075km circuit saw
Garrett take his Ninja ZX-10RR to ninth place. The combination of his injury and the medication he was given in hospital has prevented him from being able to race in the two Balaton races on
Sunday 27 July.
He went back to hospital on Sunday for a final confirmation of his overall medical condition before
making any final travel plans to head home.
After the eighth round of the championship in Hungary, the traditional summer break starts in
earnest. The ninth round will not take place until 5-7 September at the regular WorldSBK venue of Magny Cours in France.
Garrett Gerloff
“In the end I am not too bad; it was just unfortunate. It would be tough to
race today – I am not going to lie – but I had painkillers yesterday and that has made me unfit for
Sunday’s races. But, I am OK; just beaten up and I am hurting pretty bad. But, we have a long
time until the next round so I will be fine. I wish I was out there racing again today. Thank you to
everybody for the messages and the support.”
