Kawasaki WorldSBK Team rider Garrett Gerloff ended the first of three Cremona races in a strong and confident fifth place, completing the opening points scoring contest as the top non-Ducati rider.
Gerloff started Race One from eighth place on the grid, thanks to his performance in the Superpole Qualifying session earlier on Saturday, 26 September.
In the race, Gerloff was in determined form on his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR, lapping the 3.768km long Cremona ‘stadium-style’ circuit with confidence and consistent pace.
He competed with BbKRT rider Alex Lowes for much of the race and just held him off across the line after 23 laps of concentration in warm, if not excessively hot conditions.
Garrett secured 11 points for his fifth place, making a very positive difference to his overall championship haul.
This top five finish for Gerloff in the WorldSBK category came about shortly after a race win for Jeremy Alcoba (Kawasaki WorldSSP Team) in the earlier Supersport race at the overall Puccetti Racing-operated squad’s home event.
On Sunday, 27 September, there will be two more races for Gerloff and his team to take part in, the first being the ten-lap Superpole Race, which will start at 11.10. The final full distance WorldSBK race at Cremona this season will take place at 15.30.
Manuel Puccetti
“After the win in Supersport, Gerloff’s fifth place in Superbike has made for an unforgettable day. A top five at our home round is a fantastic result for the whole team, which has worked so hard to give our rider an increasingly competitive bike. Gerloff did really well because it definitely wasn’t an easy race, with high temperatures and a challenging track. Despite that, he was able to score his best result of the season. I don’t know how tomorrow will go but today I want to enjoy these wonderful results, the best of the last three years.”
Garrett Gerlof
“I was happy to be battling with Alex Lowes, and he has definitely been the reference all year. He has had a ton of good races inside the top five, so if I can be with him, it always makes me feel better. I could see Baldassarri and Sam Lowes up ahead for a little bit, but after a while, I couldn’t even see them anymore. We are trying our best. I feel like we have pushed the bike in more of a corner speed direction this year. That has helped me a lot, and we have also worked a lot with electronics. It was fine last year, but it just didn’t suit my style and how I like to have a good connection with the gas. Those two things and other things have helped me a lot. I hope we can have a good Superpole Race and at least maintain my starting position for the final race. But if I can go up a row, then that will make life easier for Race Two.”
