Garrett Gerloff WorldSBK deficit still “crazy” despite season-best result

Garrett Gerloff admits he’s still “crazy-far” from the front of WorldSBK despite taking his best result with Kawasaki in Hungary.

Gerloff was in the points in all three races at Balaton, a crucial eighth in the Superpole Race getting him a third-row start for Race 2, which he then converted to his best World Superbike result with Kawasaki in fifth.

The American was pleased with the result, but also concerned by his gap to the front, which in Race 2 was over 20 seconds.

“I was fifth, but still 24 seconds from the win, which is crazy-far,” Garrett Gerloff told WorldSBK.com after Race 2 in Hungary.

“I’ve finished 20 seconds behind before and finished 16th, and I was 24 today and I finished fifth. 

“Obviously, the championship is difficult and we just need to keep getting faster every race, more consistent. 

“Kawasaki is going to bring me some new parts, slowly throughout the year, and I’m hoping that all those the things that they do, and everything that we improve with electronics and with chassis is going to put us forward.”

Gerloff’s solid Hungary performance came after a disastrous in which his best result was 14th in the Superpole Race. In the Netherlands, he and the Kawasaki team were unable to find solutions to his problems, but in Hungary the progress was constant, he explained.

“Honestly, I was scratching my head in Assen,” said Gerloff.

“I had an idea of what I thought needed to be better in order to make progress and move up position-wise, but it was like everything that we tried I was doing the same lap time. It was difficult for me to explain, it was difficult for the team to explain. 

“Then we came here [Balaton], Friday was not too bad, Saturday was a bit better, and then [Sunday] was really good and we were just– every change we made was getting us closer to a better result and a better feeling for me. 

“I think it’s just one of those things with racing: sometimes it’s working and everything you do works, and sometimes it’s not and everything you do doesn’t work. 

“I’m just happy to be able to put the green machine up front, the bike is good and I’m really happy with how the bike feels and stuff. We just need to be more consistent with the setup and my feeling with the bike and everything, and we can get closer to the front. It’s nice to be top-five.”