Gerloff Third, Nozane Making Steady Progress on Day 1 at Mandalika
For the final round of the 2021 FIM Superbike World Championship, the GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team got underway in Indonesia at the brand new Mandalika International Circuit. Garrett Gerloff was amongst the front-runners, going third fastest, with teammate Kohta Nozane ending the day in 14th.
American rider Gerloff did not need long to get up to speed at the new track and immediately clocked in the third fastest time in Free Practice 1. In the afternoon session, though, with much better track conditions as well as some crucial setup changes, the American further improved by more than two seconds, maintaining his position thanks to a 1’34.455.
Kohta Nozane, instead, began the day with a prudent approach, but strongly improved in the latter part of the day. He was 19th in the morning’s FP1, but in the afternoon he opted for a more aggressive strategy and improved by more than 3.5 seconds to set the 14th fastest time of the session (1’35.416).
Tomorrow, the GRT Yamaha riders will return to the track to chase the first points of the weekend. The day will begin with FP3 at 09:00 (GMT+8) and will continue with the Tissot Superpole at 11:10 and Race 1 at 15:00.
Garrett Gerloff: P3 – 1’34.455
“Awesome Friday here at Mandalika. The track was a bit dirty this morning, but it soon cleaned up and in the second session it had a lot of grip. It seems like this circuit was made on purpose for our Yamaha R1, and everything is working really well. We made some setup changes too today, taking a little bit of a different direction, and I really like them. I think we have a strong package for tomorrow. I am excited to come back in the morning and see what happens.”
Kohta Nozane: P14 – 1’35.416
“We had very difficult conditions today, with this intense heat. I struggled in the morning when the track was still very dirty, then I made a mental switch for FP2 and I improved a lot. My pace was much better, but everyone is very close at this track, with very limited gaps. Tomorrow I will try to improve my riding and the setup of the bike in FP3, to try to have my best race of the season in the afternoon. It’s even hotter than in Sepang here, I will also have to make sure I stay hydrated.”
