Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) recovered from a blameless fall during a multiple rider incident in the first attempted running of Race One at Balaton Park to make the re-start and finish in a remarkable ninth place.
Balaton Park in Hungary provided an all-new venue for Ninja ZX-10RR rider Gerloff and his rivals to compete at. On Saturday 26 July that meant the arrival of Superpole Qualifying and then the first full WorldSBK race. In Superpole Gerloff would end up 14th, in what was a red-flagged and restarted session – leading to an intense final few minutes for all 23 riders.
An unfortunate collision in Turn Two of the first lap of Race One saw a red flag thrown to stop the race, after seven riders – including Garrett – were involved in a relatively slow but dramatic incident after two other riders had collided.
The tough Texan rider picked up his bike and rode back to the pits for evaluation and inspection. Gerloff made it back onto the grid for the quick restart to Race One, which was finally run over 20-laps and not the planned 21.
Garrett fought for ninth and tenth track positions during the race and was finally classified ninth, gaining seven valuable championship points in the process.
After the race, a lower back injury that Gerloff had suffered in the T2 multiple-rider accident flared up and he was taken to hospital for further examination. At this point in time he has been declared unfit to ride, and is still undergoing checks in hospital.
