Gerloff: “Imola looks epic”, makes comparison to MotoAmerica tracks

Garrett Gerloff is hoping to be competitive during this weekend’s eighth round of the 2023 WorldSBK campaign at Imola, after comparing the Italian circuit to those back home in the USA.

Robert Jones

10 Jul 2023

Garrett Gerloff, Yamaha WorldSBK Donington Park 2023

Despite being a WorldSBK rider for four years, Gerloff is set to make his debut at Imola which is the only circuit on the 2023 calendar that is new to the American.

After a difficult start to the year, Gerloff has been getting stronger and stronger which was highlighted by his performance during the Misano and Donington Park rounds.

Two key areas that have led to improved performances are to do with the chassis and geometry, with Gerloff telling WorldSBK.com: "From the beginning of the year, we’ve made steps with chassis and geometry, which made the bike feel more normal and natural with how everything has worked.

"In the last couple of the rounds, we’ve been in a good shape with the geometry but we’ve made steps with the electronics, which has especially helped.

"Andy [Leivers - Gerloff’s crew chief] has been doing an epic job; if I have an issue, then he’s good at improving the feeling. He looks at everything closely and he’s done a great job at giving me what I want.

"Track time has been huge. In Australia and Indonesia, I’d had testing but it didn’t feel natural or like my bike, it just felt like a bike.

"When we came back to Europe, Assen was OK and it felt better but then in Barcelona, everything started to feel a bit more like it was mine. We made changes to setup and that was really good.

"That comes after having enough track time and trying different setups. When we’re trying to make small adjustments, you want to do it slowly and make sure they’re going in the right direction.

"Otherwise, if you haphazardly say it did work but you’re not really sure, then you can get lost."

While Gerloff is excited by the breakthroughs that have been made, BMW have more improvements to make in order to become consistent challengers for the top five.

The German manufacturer has shown a willingness to continue bringing upgrades, something that will need to happen as the season goes on ahead of Toprak Razgatlioglu joining the factory team.

But regarding Gerloff, who is staying with Bonovo Action BMW in 2024, the Texan rider is hoping his knack at adapting to new circuits quickly will benefit him this weekend.

"For me, I seem to be good at learning new tracks; I like going to them," added Gerloff. "I have no past history there, positive or negative.

"There’s nothing in my mind to distract me from just riding. Imola will be cool and I’ve always watched that track ever since I started road racing.

"It’s been one of my favourites just because of how crazy it is. Up and down, through the trees, it looks epic! It reminds me of a lot of American tracks as it’s an anti-clockwise track.

"Also, they’re mostly natural terrain tracks. All things considered, I hope to be strong there because it’s similar to what I’ve been used to in the USA. I think it might be a good start."