Kawasaki WorldSBK Team rider Garrett Gerloff ended up scoring points in the opening race of the WorldSBK finale at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto, despite starting the race from a less than ideal grid position.
In Superpole Qualifying, Gerloff ended up 16th on the grid, leading to a sixth row start in the 20-lap Race One.
Gerloff, feeling he had a good bike set-up for the race itself, found it a tough challenge from that starting point. He lapped the 4.423km circuit as fast as he could, and improved his final race result compared to his Superpole performance.
Garrett’s 14th place on the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR gave him two more championship points to take into the final two races of the season, which will take place on Sunday, 18 October.
The ten-lap Superpole Race will not only award points to the first nine finishers, but also determine the Race Two grid for the top nine. Race Two will be run over 20 laps, and start at 15.30 local time, as did Race One on Saturday.
Manuel Puccetti
“A difficult day for our team and rider. We struggled more than expected, but the team continues to work with Garrett to analyse the data collected today. We’re sure we can do a lot better tomorrow, also because we want to round out the season in a positive fashion.”
Garrett Gerloff
“It was a difficult Saturday, honestly. I really tried my best and I feel like the team has given me a good bike. After Superpole Qualifying, starting the first race back where I did, it made life really difficult in the race. I tried to take back a few positions, but it was just a difficult day. Sorry to the team for that. It looks like the weather might be a bit different on Sunday, we will maybe even have rain all day, so we’ll see if that changes things and we can make a step forward.”
