With the FIM Superbike World Championship getting underway this weekend at Phillip Island Circuit, located on the south coast of Australia, former MotoAmerica class champion and Superbike race winner Garrett Gerloff participated in the Official WorldSBK test, also held at Phillip Island. For Gerloff and his factory Kawasaki WorldSBK Team, it was a final shakedown for the #31 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR that the Texan will race in the upcoming 12-round championship.
It was a two-day test, but the weather only cooperated with one fully sunny day on Monday before rain fell on Tuesday. Gerloff set some good lap times on day one, and he and the team also managed to work through their agenda as they made final preparations for the race weekend. Despite a small tipover in the dry on Monday and another get-off in the wet on Tuesday, Gerloff completed the test without sustaining any significant injuries.
“The opening day of the test was the best one, and I can say that the second day was not the best, from the beginning,” Gerloff said. “It’s not been great today but I appreciate the hard work done by the team to fix the bike after the crash. Now we have to forget about the final preseason test and focus on the first race weekend of the new season.”
Overall, it was a successful series of tests for Gerloff and his Kawasaki WorldSBK Team, with several new components having been tested. Gerloff showed really good pace throughout most of the sessions in Spain, Portugal, and Australia, and he is looking forward to this weekend where he will make his debut with the Green Team.
The race weekend will feature three days of action starting this Friday. There will be three WorldSBK races, with two longer contests over 20 laps and one 10-lap “sprint”. The longer races this year will be split into two halves, by regulation, with a mandatory tire change for all riders at the halfway point.
