Already in his 2020 debut, Garrett Gerloff’s three podium finishes made their mark as he made his way onto the WSBK stage. During the following season, the rider from Texas defended the colors of the GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team and managed to climb to the top of the honor on two more occasions. Now, in 2022, Garrett Gerloff wants to go one step further: to be the undisputed candidate in the battle for victory.
At the gates of a promising year for the Yamaha team, Garrett Gerloff does not hide his desire to start his third season in the world championship, which he hopes will become the best of his career. For the moment, the American driver is on the right track, finishing fourth behind Álvaro Bautista in pre-season testing.
In an exclusive interview with Motorsport.com, Garrett Gerloff confirmed the good feeling he had on his Yamaha R1.
“The team has worked hard and the advances have made us improve in terms of speed and consistency. This year is going to be a season with many strong drivers with teams that have done a very good job,” added the Texas driver.
“So I think it will be hard to choose a single rival this year. It is impossible to say a specific name or team, the competition is like that and in 2022 I think there will be a new reference every weekend.”
The American pilot has many goals, but there is one in particular that constantly echoes in his mind: to make 2022 the best year of his life. And it is that, with a contract that expires at the end of the year, Gerloff does not close the door to any opportunity.
“I have no plans, I just try to do the best I can. I want to perform at the level I know I can reach and from there, see what happens.”
“It will be a difficult year but we will try to fight for good positions, it will be interesting.”
In 2021 Petronas gave him the opportunity to become a substitute for Franco Morbidelli during the appointment in the Netherlands. Gerloff returned to Texas after finishing 17th, taking a memorable battle with Luca Marini on the Assen circuit.
“It was a very beautiful and incredible experience. But yes, really difficult,” he said.
“It wasn’t the easiest weekend of my life. A lot of things were different and the difference between the 2019 and 2020 M1 was very big. Assen was a track I had never been to so a lot happened. , large.
After his good work on the M1, his name featured on the list of substitutes at Petronas under the protection of the withdrawal of Valentino Rossi and the promotion of Morbidelli to the official team after the departure of Maverick Viñales.
Although Garrett Gerloff continued his path in the WSBK, currently the American rider is physically and psychologically fit to repeat in MotoGP, and he does not rule out racing there again if he finds an open door.
“One of my goals is still to race in MotoGP, but we’ll see what happens. I just want to have good results for myself and my team and then we’ll see.”
“For sure I could do better [than in the past], but the truth is that I would love to relive that experience and have another opportunity, and having my name mentioned was very good. I appreciate that people considered me as a possible substitute,” he thanked.
