The following is from Yamaha Motor Europe…
Yamaha Motor Europe is pleased to announce that Garrett Gerloff will continue with Yamaha in WorldSBK until at least the end of the 2022 season, after agreeing to a one-year contract extension with the only American rider in the series.
Off the back of his best-ever WorldSBK championship result at Donington Park, where he finished second in the final race of the British round, Gerloff’s chances of taking that extra step towards his first series victory will be further bolstered by this new one-year extension.
The 25-year-old has been a revelation since arriving in the WorldSBK paddock from MotoAmerica at the beginning of 2020. Despite having never raced at any of the European venues, Gerloff quickly adapted and by the second half of his debut season was a regular podium challenger, taking top three finishes with the GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team at Barcelona and Estoril.
Benefiting from the 2021-spec Yamaha R1 this year, Gerloff has continued to show race winning potential, with two podium finishes at Aragón and Donington Park seeing him lie sixth in the riders’ standings, while the Texan also impressed on his MotoGP race debut with the PETRONAS Yamaha SRT team at Assen.
Garrett Gerloff
“I’m really excited to have signed this contract with Yamaha to continue with them next year. I’ve had a great time in Europe the past year and a half, and I’ve been really happy with the progress I’ve seen within myself, the GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team and the Yamaha R1. We’ve made serious steps forward already this season, allowing us to consistently challenge for the podium, but I know there is more to come. We have been so close to that first win, within touching distance at Donington Park, and with the support of Yamaha and the team I’m confident we can do it before the season is out.”
Andrea Dosoli
Road Racing Manager, Yamaha Motor Europe
“I still remember Magny-Cours in 2019, when Garrett came to visit us and where our journey together started. Since then, he has impressed everyone inside the Yamaha family with his motivation and commitment. He has been delivering fantastic results, has shown great speed and is able to quickly adapt to new circuits, confirmed at Donington Park where he was fastest overall on his first day and claimed a very impressive podium on Sunday. We’re really happy that we can extend this collaboration for another season believing that there is more to come from both sides and Garrett can become a title contender in the close future. We have given the possibility to a young, talented rider, who we selected from a national championship and brought him onto the world stage, clearly confirming the strong Yamaha worldwide motorsport involvement.”
Paolo Pavesio
Director, Marketing and Motorsport, Yamaha Motor Europe
“It brings us great satisfaction to be able to confirm that Garrett will remain with Yamaha for a third season. Since joining us in 2020 Garrett has shown that he has the raw talent needed to succeed on the world championship stage, regularly fighting at the front with the most prolific riders in the series. Garrett’s move to WorldSBK has again shown the opportunities Yamaha riders have to step up from national championships, such as MotoAmerica, to the world stage. I believe that this is important for Yamaha, for WorldSBK and, in this instance, the American fans. It is our intention to make this step easier in the future, welcoming more Yamaha riders from overseas into our world championship program, as we have done already with Garrett, Kohta Nozane and Galang Hendra Pratama, to reconfirm the global role of WorldSBK.”
