Strong Effort for GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team in Mandalika Race 1
Garrett Gerloff produced a solid performance to take seventh and Top Independent Spot in Mandalika’s Race 1, while Kohta Nozane battled to an FIM Superbike World Championship points finish.
After this morning’s Free Practice 3 session, both GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team riders headed out for the Tissot Superpole qualifier. American rider Gerloff pushed for an improved lap time in the latter stages, but was unable to extract his full potential, going 10th (1’33.208) fastest. Meanwhile, his Japanese teammate made a strong step compared to Friday to qualify 14th on the grid (1’33.582).
In Race 1, Gerloff maintained his position after the start, joining the top five battle immediately. The American started to climb the order on lap 13, making a move on Motocorsa Ducati’s Axel Bassani to take ninth, before showing great speed on old tyres to pass BMW’s Michael van der Mark two laps later. With three laps to go, Gerloff got through on Kawasaki’s Alex Lowes as well, crossing the line in seventh place.
On the other side of the garage, Nozane enjoyed a great getaway gaining three places at the start. The Japanese ace battled against Barni Ducati’s Xavi Fores and Bonovo BMW’s Loris Baz to stay in contention for points. The 2020 All-Japan JSB1000 Champion managed his tyres well and came home in 15th place.
Gerloff and Nozane will be back in action tomorrow for the Superpole Race at 10:30 local time (GMT+8) and Race 2, which will start at 13:30.
Garrett Gerloff: P7
“Overall that was a good Race 1, even though it wasn’t easy. Making moves here is really tricky as if you go just one meter off the line, it’s very easy to crash. Anyway, I enjoyed the battles and the speed was not too bad, it’s also nice to be back on top in the Independent category. We’ll try to progress even more tomorrow.”
Kohta Nozane: P15
“Today’s qualifying was not so bad, but in Race 1 I made too many mistakes. I’ll try to be more constant tomorrow and have a faster race pace, but to come back scoring points is positive and we’re going to work on some areas to make good progress for the last two races.”
