GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team’s Garrett Gerloff scored a solid seventh-place finish in Race 1 at Donington Park, while Kohta Nozane made progress but missed out on points.
Both returned to action this morning for Free Practice 3, where the American showed an incredible pace, setting the fastest lap of the session on a 1’26.877, while his Japanese teammate was 26th (1’29.996).
Unfortunately, Gerloff was unable to match his FP3 time in the Tissot Superpole and went eighth quickest (1’27.100). Nozane improved his lap time by an impressive 1.379s to go 23rd (1’28.617).
In Race 1, both GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team riders enjoyed a good start, with Nozane enjoying an impressive first lap, gaining five positions.
Gerloff made his way into the contention for a top five finish, fighting with the likes of Ducati’s Michael Ruben Rinaldi and Honda’s Iker Lecuona, the latter of which he managed to overtake on the final lap for seventh. On the other side of the garage, Nozane showed good pace and made progress to finish 19th.
The GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team will be back in Donington tomorrow in the Superpole Race at 11:00 (GMT+1) and Race 2 at 14:00.
Garrett Gerloff: P7
“The day started pretty well, we made changes that worked immediately. So, we finished FP3 in first place, but unfortunately we weren’t able to continue that pace in Superpole. It wasn’t a disaster, but not as good as I expected. The start was awesome, but I got stuck after a couple of corners and lost a bit of time. From then on I tried to stay with the guys in front but I couldn’t make as many passes as I wanted. The temperatures today were really high, but we learned some things and we’re ready for tomorrow.”
Kohta Nozane: P19
“Not the easiest Saturday, but we have to move on. The Superpole session was not the best one and I had to start from 23rd on the grid which was not ideal. Anyway, I didn’t give up and enjoyed a good start gaining some places. From that moment I tried to settle into a rhythm and be consistent as much as possible. The pace was not so bad, but we want to improve in tomorrow’s races so we’re already working on it.”
