Solid Pace for GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team on Day 1 at Misano
The GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team returned to action today at the Misano World Circuit ‘Marco Simoncelli’, with Garrett Gerloff going sixth fastest on combined times, while Kohta Nozane was 16th.
After being declared fit to race on Thursday, Gerloff ended Free Practice 1 in 11th (1’35.756), with teammate Nozane finishing 18th (1’36.978) as he suffered a small off in the final stages of the session.
GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team focused on long runs in FP2, completing many laps with Gerloff, who showed solid race pace. The American ended the afternoon’s running sixth fastest (1’34.605), while Nozane was 16th (1’35.726).
The Japanese rider was forced to miss the first 10 minutes of FP2 due to a penalty for not following marshal’s instructions after his FP1 crash.
Both riders will be back on track tomorrow, firstly with FP3 at 09:00 local time (GMT +2), before the Tissot Superpole qualifying at 11:10 and Race 1 at 14:00.
Garrett Gerloff: P6 – 1’34.605
“Overall, the day went quite well. The leg is fine and P6 is not bad; the pace is good even though we can improve in some areas. The tests we made here helped a lot as well. The goals are the same as they’ve been all year, to have a good qualifying and try to stay close to the top group in the race. I tried the new tyre that Pirelli brought here and I do like it honestly, it gives me more stability.”
Kohta Nozane: P16 – 1’35.726
“Day one was not that bad. We can surely improve and we need to do it, but the feeling is OK overall and I’m confident about being faster tomorrow. I’m sorry for the team for the crash in the FP1. I made a mistake and it was painful, not for the body, but just because we missed some time in FP2 as well. So, I want to make further steps for a good result also for the guys who are working really well as usual.”
