The 2024 FIM Superbike World Championship concluded on Sunday in Jerez, Spain, and for all intents and purposes, the calendar has already changed to 2025 in the WorldSBK paddock with testing going on this week at Circuito de Jerez-Ángel Nieto for some of the riders, especially those who are racing for new teams and aboard new motorcycles.
And, while the return of Bimota to World Superbike is garnering a lot of the headlines this week, former MotoAmerica Superbike race winner Garrett Gerloff is raising some eyebrows. Gerloff’s entire career, both in MotoAmerica and WorldSBK, has been aboard inline four-cylinder machinery, first with Yamaha, then most recently with BMW, and now, he embarks on an adventure with Kawasaki. There are, of course, differences between the three brands of literbikes, but the basic architecture of the engines is the same, which gives Gerloff some familiarity and understanding of the power delivery.
“I think the main difference is the power,” team owner Manuel Puccetti said. “Gerloff was my rider choice. I wanted a top rider that had already ridden this kind of inline-four…compared to taking a rider from a V4. Of course, if they’re fast, they’ll be fast anyway, but the jump is shorter if you come from a similar bike.”
Incidentally, one of the first orders of business was that the team name has changed from Kawasaki Puccetti Racing to Kawasaki WorldSBK Team. It’s an important distinction, to be sure, because it firmly clarifies that Garrett Gerloff is the one and only rider in the WorldSBK paddock who is racing for the Kawasaki factory.
Does that responsibility weigh heavily on the Double-G’s mind? Apparently not because he was the fastest rider on the track throughout most of Wednesday. Gerloff did 90 laps just on Wednesday alone as he tested some new 2025 components including an upgraded engine and a suspension upgrade for his ZX-10RR.
At the very end of the two-day test, the aforementioned Bimota team spooned some ultra-sticky qualifying tires on Axel Bassani’s and Alex Lowes’ bikes in order to “win” the test, but Gerloff still ended up third-fastest overall and was overall fastest on race tires.
“We’re very happy, he’s quite fast immediately on the bike,” Puccetti commented.
Be sure to follow Garrett Gerloff year-round on his YouTube Channel:
