| The GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team completed another two-days session of test at Misano World Circuit on 16-17 March in preparation of the 2022 FIM Superbike World Championship. Kohta Nozane and Garrett Gerloff got the chance to ride again their Yamaha R1 WorldSBK bikes after the first outing of the season at Motorland Aragón on 2-3 March. Both riders and team could benefit of two good days in terms of weather and took advantage of any single minute of action with just activities stopped for a short time on late afternoon due to a red flag. In the first day with track open from 9:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 18:00 (CET), Gerloff and Nozane focused on trying new parts and worked on electronics. The American rider set a 1.34.376 (72 laps) as personal best with a slight crash in the middle of the day at Turn 7 which didn’t affect work and performance, while Japanese’s fastest lap was a 1.35.455 (74 laps). Dry conditions on Day 2 as well with a small change on the schedule. Indeed, break time changed from 13:00 to 12:00, so there was activity on track from 9:00 to 12:00 and 13:00 to 18:00. So, Nozane and Gerloff could continue their plans making significant improves as well. Despite a red flag interrupted the second day for a bit once again, the GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team kept doing his job and took good data for the future. Gerloff ended the day and the tests with a 1.33.686 (92 laps) as fastest time as Nozane made a step forward riding in 1.34.790 (66 laps). The next pre-season test event for the GRT Yamaha team is scheduled for 25-26 March at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. |
| Garrett Gerloff: “We’re in the good direction, I’m impressed and satisfied with the work Yamaha did with the different parts. Today we tried some setup changes and we made a big improvement. The bike feels great and it was nice to have two dry days. Now it’s all about putting the small pieces together, we’ll make another test in just one week at Circuito de Barcelona-Catalunya where we’ll have more teams and riders.” Kohta Nozane: “I’m happy to have had two more days of testing in a circuit I really like. We tried new things and made a step forward from day 1 to day 2 at Misano World Circuit, I'm delighted with the parts Yamaha brought to us. There is still work to do, but step by step we’re putting the pieces together to improve our performance. Now just head down to the next test at Circuito de Barcelona-Catalunya, another track I’m feeling comfortable with.” |
