After a rare year with no US representatives on the WorldSBR grid, 2020 will feature the promising 24-year-old Garrett Gerloff with the GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team.
Gerloff has spent most of the past decade finding success at each rung of the USA motorcycling ladder. After picking up multiple trophies and wins in the WERA National series and the Daytona Sportbike Championship, Gerloff landed in the MotoAmerica Supersport class in 2015, finishing 3rd on his first attempt. He would go two better in 2016 and again in 2017, becoming a two-time Champion by the age of 22.
This success earned him a move up to the MotoAmerica Superbike class in 2018, in the factory Yamaha squad. Gerloff dealt with the steep learning curve admirably, picking up five podiums on course to fifth in the standings in his rookie year, but his sophomore season is when Gerloff truly shone. Four wins and a further 11 podiums across 20 races were enough to claim third in the standings in 2019 – just 51 points off the Champion.
The American saw this as the perfect moment to make the move onto the world stage. With the factory-supported GRT Yamaha squad offering him and teammate Federico Caricasulo a powerful package for the season, expect to see Gerloff’s star grow throughout 2020.