Kawasaki WorldSBK Team Completes Important Misano Test

Words and images courtesy of Kawasaki Press Racing

Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) recently took part in a private test at the Misano World Circuit ‘Marco Simoncelli’. This test occurred between 27-28 May. A strong field of regular WorldSBK riders shared two days of almost uninterrupted track time.

The 4.226km long Misano circuit is a regular on the WorldSBK calendar. It is a well-known location for both Gerloff and his Italian-based Kawasaki WorldSBK Team.

This test was significant for Garrett, as he is riding his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR in WorldSBK for the first time this season. Despite having many previous years of experience in the championship itself, this season offers new learning opportunities.

Away from the pressures of qualifying or racing for points, the American rider and his technical crew worked on finding the best possible machine set-up. This preparation is intended to take from round-to-round. This opportunity made these two full days of testing an invaluable experience.

Misano was an ideal test venue because the next championship round will be held there between 13-15 June. This outing was an early chance to work on a Misano-specific machine set-up. It was done before the team returns there to race for real.

In the overall Misano testing timesheets, Garrett was ranked 15th across two days and four individual track sessions. He set his best lap of 1’33.510 on the final afternoon.

Garrett Gerloff stated: “Our work with the race tyre allowed us to find great pace, which will be key for the upcoming Misano round. I’m still struggling in some areas and there are still aspects of the bike to improve, but the last two days have shown us that we’re on the right path and need to continue to work and focus, just as we’ve been doing. I can’t wait to race in front of our home crowd and our sponsors.”