Garrett Gerloff leads the way at Most

Garrett Gerloff had his best practice session of the year on the opening day at Autodrom Most and as a result set the fastest lap of all.

An astounding performance from man and machine saw Gerloff and his Ninja ZX-10RR lead the entire WorldSBK field after two Free Practice sessions at the 4.212km-long Autodrom Most on Friday 15 May.

At a circuit with every possible kind of corner, and no less than 21 corners in all, Gerloff jumped up the rankings after FP2 to go quickest of all, setting a 1’30.719 lap time. This pace saw him 0.066 seconds ahead of championship leader Nicolo Bulega, in an FP2 session that saw every single rider improve on their morning FP1 times.

Rain drops were in evidence before the start of the second Friday WorldSBK timed session, but the track was fully dry for Gerloff and his distinctive green Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR to finally outpace all-comers on day one.

After this confidence-boosting performance, the Kawasaki WorldSBK Team and their American rider will now face a short FP3 session on Saturday morning, before Superpole Qualifying and then a 22-lap Race One takes place at what is the sixth round of the season.

Garrett Gerloff: “I felt like it was a good lap, and when I went across the finish line and I saw a 1’30 lap time, I was like ‘I hope it’s a top five time’ – because I couldn’t remember what a good lap was here. Then, the next lap around, I saw on my board ‘P1!’ When I went into the pits I asked if I was using a race tyre, not a softer SC0 tyre, and they told me it was a race tyre. I had a small fall this morning, in FP1, and I didn’t feel super comfortable at that stage, but big thanks to my guys because they made some good changes to the set-up and I felt really comfortable in FP2. Also, the track was better for me as, in general, I had more confidence and more grip with the track. That combination of things helped a lot.”

A complicated first day for Alcoba and Aegerter at Most

The fifth WorldSSP round got underway today at Autodrom Most in Czechia. In cool and very cloudy conditions, the Kawasaki WorldSSP Team and riders Jeremy Alcona and Dominique Aegerter headed out for a free practice session, in preparation for the afternoon’s Superpole. The Spanish rider put in a time of 1’35”293 and placed eleventh, while the Swiss rider finished twenty-fourth with a time of 1’36”198.

In the 40-minute Superpole that ran in the afternoon, establishing grid positions for Race 1, both riders were able to do more. Alcoba confirmed eleventh thanks to a quicker lap time (1’34”341), while Aegerter (1’34”913) placed twentieth.

These results mean that Jeremy will line up on the fourth row of the grid and Dominique from the seventh for the first race of this fifth WorldSSP round.

Jeremy Alcoba: “We struggled a little today compared to previous round, particularly due to the layout of this track, which caused us some problems last year too. We made a lot of changes to the bike setup and improved it, but I didn’t find the feeling I had in recent races. Tomorrow will be a strange race because I’m not sure about my race pace and don’t know how the tyres will behave from mid-race on. We need to try and start strong so that we don’t lose contact with the frontrunners, and then we’ll see what we can do. I’ll be giving it my all as always.”

Dominique Aegerter: “I struggled to find good feeling with my bike in morning practice, but the team and I worked hard and in qualifying we were able to reduce the gap to the front. We’re still only twentieth though, which is not where we should be, even though we know we gave 100%. Tomorrow we’ll try something new in warm-up to try and improve my feeling with the bike. Then, in the race, I’ll work hard to make up as many positions as possible and achieve a good result.”

Gerloff takes a season best 4th place at Most

Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) went from sixth place in Superpole qualifying to fourth place in the opening race at Most, making this the best day of the season so far for Gerloff and his Ninja ZX-10RR.

After wowing everyone on Friday 15 May with the best single lap time of the day, Garrett stepped up again on his Ninja to start the first race of the weekend from sixth place after Superpole Qualifying on Saturday morning.

Launching from the second row, Garrett got unlucky in the first few corners of Race One and lost some places, but the race was to be red-flagged and restarted, this time over 21 laps, not the originally scheduled 22.

Once again setting off from sixth place on the grid, Garrett made a better start and pushed all the way to take the first off-podium ranking of fourth, earning what is his best result of the year so far.

He came under pressure near the end from Axel Bassani’s bimota KB998 Rimini machine, but he resisted the challenge from behind to take fourth place – his best race result since he joined Kawasaki last season.

After a sometimes dramatic but truly rewarding Saturday, Sunday for Garrett and his Kawasaki WorldSBK Team will feature a short Tissot Superpole Race and a full distance 22-lap Race Two.

Manuel Puccetti: “A great day for our Superbike project. Garrett finished fourth, which we’re really pleased about, not only for the result itself, so close to the podium, but also because it confirms the recent positive trend and consistent growth of our rider and bike, which is proving increasingly competitive. All our efforts are finally paying off.”

Garrett Gerloff: “I am just happy to be fighting there in the top five places, and that was our goal before the weekend started. To accomplish that goal is really nice and it kind of lets me breathe a little bit for the two races tomorrow. I hope this top five result helps. Yesterday I just had a good lap in FP2, but today I was sixth in Superpole Qualifying and then fourth in the race, which is where we know the bike and I are at the moment. I think the bike setting was working well at Balaton Park last time out and also here in Most, so we are just trying to make small adjustments to keep moving forward. We are doing it, so I am happy.”

Points for Alcoba in Race One

Kawasaki WorldSSP Team riders Jeremy Alcoba and Dominique Aegerter worked hard to overcome less than ideal starting positions for the first 19-lap race at Autodrom Most, with Alcoba securing championship points for his efforts.

In Friday’s Superpole Qualifying session, Alcoba finished 11th fastest and Aegerter 20th. After the session, however, each rider was demoted by six grid positions before the start of Race One, after they were deemed to be riding too slowly in some sectors of the track during qualifying.

The final Kawasaki WorldSSP Team grid positions for Race One were 17th for Alcoba and 26th for Aegerter. This meant a sixth row start for Jeremy and a ninth row start for Dominique.

In the opening 19-lap race, held in dry conditions at the 4.212-km-long Czech circuit, Alcoba made good early progress to what would eventually be his final 13th place finishing position.

For Aegerter, the first race was a particularly tough challenge, with the two-time World Champion showing his battling qualities to get into a final 18th place.

In Race Two on Sunday 17 May, Alcoba will start from 12th place on the grid and Aegerter 20th.

Manuel Puccetti: “The Supersport race was conditioned by the six-position penalty our riders received, which forced them to start a long way back on the grid. A difficult race for both Alcoba, who nevertheless did well to reach the points zone, and Aegerter, who started too far back to be able to aim for more than what he in fact achieved. We’ll try to make up for it in Race 2.”

Jeremy Alcoba: “I knew it would be a difficult weekend because we are struggling a lot in all areas. I gave my best in Race One and my start was quite good. I stayed in the second group all the time and I tried to fight with them. We received a penalty after yesterday, so I had to start in 17th place, but tomorrow I will start nearer the front. For sure, that should help us at least in the first laps. The target now is to see the data from today and improve a bit, because in the last laps of Race One we were quite fast. Let’s keep pushing.”

Dominique Aegerter: “We tried something this morning in the warm-up session, but it was very cold, so we did not find the right direction. So, we went back to a setting that we know. Starting very far back on the grid does not help, and there are a lot of fights in the positions closer to the back. When I had the pace, I think it was not too bad and I could overtake some riders until the end. But, to finish out of the points is very disappointing. We will work hard to improve and find a better way to work to have a good feeling and stronger results. I hope Race Two will be better.”

Garrett Gerloff impresses again in Sunday’s racing at Most

Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) continued his rich seam of strong form on his Ninja ZX-10RR by securing two more top six finishes on the final day of track action at the Autodrom Most in Czechia.

In the morning ten-lap Superpole Race, Garrett followed eventual fifth place rider, Alberto Surra, for a long period, but he could not quite get past at the end. He scored sixth place for his great efforts and was just 0.139 seconds from a top five result.

Gerloff’s Superpole Race finish meant he started Race Two – the final one of the weekend – from sixth place and the second row of the grid.

Although eighth on the first lap, Garrett was immediately involved in a crowd-pleasing battle behind the leading quartet and would move forward to seventh on lap two, sixth on lap 12, and fifth with four laps to go.

His eventual clear fifth place and the 11 points he earned were Garrett’s reward for his pure Race Two pace and battling qualities. His race results from Most read 4-6-5, and they put him in an overall 11th place in the championship points table after five rounds.

After the completion of the Czech round, the next WorldSBK races will be held at Motorland Aragon, in Spain, between 29-31 May.

Manuel Puccetti: “Garrett did an excellent job in today’s two races, placing sixth in the sprint and fifth in the second long race, during which he tackled every corner with real determination. I’m really pleased as I think we’re enjoying a really positive moment and finally achieving the kind of results we deserve. If we carry on like this, we’ll soon have a shot at the podium.”

Garrett Gerloff: “In the Superpole Race, everybody used the SCO tyre, so everybody had good grip in the beginning, and then for most of the race. I feel like I was not able to use the tyre as much as the Ducatis that were around me. I feel like when we all have less grip, then I have an advantage. Race Two was a good, clean race with Alberto Surra, but sometimes I was like, ‘just let me do a couple of laps ahead of you, and we could maybe go forward!’ I was just happy to cross the line at the front of the group. I felt really good.”

Alcoba and Aegerter finish in the points in Race 2

The fifth round of WorldSSP ended with Kawasaki WorldSSP Team riders Jeremy Alcoba and Dominique Aegerter each taking points in the final 19-lap race at Autodrom Most, although it was something of a bittersweet ending for Alcoba in particular.

At the start of the second race, which was held in dry conditions, Alcoba was on the fourth row of the starting grid, in 12th position, while Aegerter was in 20th place.

Both of the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R 636 riders attacked the sinuous 4.212-km-long Czech circuit from the start, with Jeremy riding in the midfield for a time until nearer the end of the race. His good pace and then the retirement of some other riders saw him take an initial sixth-place finish.

He was, however, eventually penalised for two infractions – exceeding track limits on the final lap and not rejoining the track properly from the slip road at T1. Jeremy was thus ranked eighth in the official results, scoring eight championship points, not ten.

Aegerter moved forward strongly enough to end up 12th at the end. He had been 18th on lap one, then 13th on lap 13, before gaining one final place at the conclusion of a very intense Race Two.

In the championship standings, Jeremy is sixth overall, and top Kawasaki rider, while Dominique is 17th. Alcoba has 76 points and Aegerter 25.

The Motorland Aragon Circuit in Spain plays host to the sixth round of WorldSSP this year, with the midpoint of the season being reached between 29-31 May.

Manuel Puccetti: “Alcoba put in a really strong performance today, finishing sixth after recovering well in a difficult race that saw many crashes. Unfortunately, at the end of the race, he was penalized two positions for having broken a questionable rule, but this doesn’t take away from his excellent performance. Aegerter gritted his teeth and did well to climb from twentieth at the start to final twelfth place, scoring points in the process.”

Jeremy Alcoba: “I was happy with today’s lap times and pace, so we made a big step from Race One. Yesterday, I struggled to 1’35-low lap times, but the pace today was 1’35 or 1’34.5, so the team did a really good job because they understood what I needed to make this step forward. They gave me a better bike set-up so I could ride more easily. We had the speed today, even if in some parts we struggled more than them. But I put in all the effort to fight with them – I enjoyed it – and I won the fight inside the second group. We were closer today than yesterday to the first group, so I am really happy with how we ended the weekend here.”

Dominique Aegerter: “In Race Two, we could finish in the points, and starting from 20th position, this was not easy, for sure. I think we worked very hard and tried to understand the bike better. I think we succeeded in this, but we still need more kilometres and need to find what I like a bit more. We made a step from yesterday, but the most important thing is to start out better on Friday and be closer to the front, so that we can start much closer to the front in the races. We know the areas we need to work in.”