Brave Ride From Gerloff Sees Him Finish Ninth
Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) recovered from a blameless fall during a multiple rider incident. This occurred in the first attempted running of Race One at Balaton Park. Despite this, he managed to make the re-start and finish in a remarkable ninth place.
Balaton Park in Hungary provided an all-new venue for Ninja ZX-10RR rider Gerloff and his rivals.
They were there to compete.
On Saturday 26 July, this meant the arrival of Superpole Qualifying and then the first full WorldSBK race. In Superpole, Gerloff would end up 14th. This was in a session that was red-flagged and restarted. It led to an intense final few minutes for all 23 riders.
An unfortunate collision in Turn Two of the first lap of Race One saw a red flag thrown. This was to stop the race after seven riders, including Garrett, were involved in a relatively slow but dramatic incident. This incident occurred after two other riders had collided.
The tough Texan rider picked up his bike and rode back to the pits for evaluation and inspection. Gerloff made it back onto the grid for the quick restart to Race One.
It was finally run over 20 laps and not the planned 21.
Garrett fought for ninth and tenth track positions during the race. He was finally classified ninth, gaining seven valuable championship points in the process.
After the race, a lower back injury that Gerloff had suffered in the T2 multiple-rider accident flared up. He was taken to hospital for further examination. At this point in time, he has been declared unfit to ride and is still undergoing checks in hospital.
Sunday’s WorldSBK action at Balaton will consist of a morning warm-up session. It will then be followed by the ten-lap Superpole Race, and finally a 21-lap Race Two. Weather conditions are expected to turn wet for the final day of WorldSBK’s return to Hungary. This marks the first time in 35 years.