Top Three for GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team on Opening Day at Estoril
After almost a month since its last outing, the GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team returned to action at Circuito Estoril, going third fastest with Garrett Gerloff, while Kohta Nozane finished the day 16th on combined times.
American Gerloff topped the time sheets in Free Practice 1, posting a blisteringly quick 1’36.572, with teammate Nozane going 17th on a 1’38.701. The Japanese rider suffered a small crash in the final stages of the session, but managed to bring the bike back to the pits with no major issues.
The GYTR GRT Yamaha team then focused on long runs in Free Practice 2, making steps forward with the set-up. Nozane improved to go 16th on a 1’37.765, while Gerloff couldn’t better his morning time as he worked on his race pace, still ending the session in fourth on a 1’37.081.
Both riders will be back on track tomorrow, firstly with FP3 at 09:00 local time (GMT +1), before the Tissot Superpole qualifying at 11:10 and Race 1 at 14:00.
Garrett Gerloff: P3 – 1’36.572
“I’m feeling great at this circuit, I really enjoy the track. I think it’s good for the Yamaha R1 as well. In the afternoon we worked more on race pace with used tyres, looking to put everything together for this weekend. The lap time could have been closer in the end, but we were just focusing on being consistent. To see my name on the top in the morning was really nice. Now we’ll just keep working during FP3 and aim for a good qualifying.”
Kohta Nozane: P16 – 1’37.765
“First of all, the main thing is that my right foot is fine. FP1 was not the best session honestly and unfortunately I suffered a late crash. I’m sorry for the team, but they did a really good job for the afternoon and I was able to improve a lot my lap time. The overall position is not that great, but there’s margin to improve and we’ll focus on that tomorrow to get a good Superpole session and Race 1.”
