Kohta Nozane withdraws from Donington Park WorldSBK
GRT Yamaha rider Kohta Nozane will take no further part in round four of the 2021 World Superbike championship at Donington Park due to injury.
The Japanese rider suffered a distal phalanx fracture on his middle finger (right hand) at the Navarra test two weeks ago.
Nozane took part in this morning’s FP1 in order to evaluate the injury and see if he could ride through it, however, the 25 year-old struggled as he finished outside the 107% timing rule.
According to Yamaha: “British Superbike riders, Jason O’Halloran and Tarran Mackenzie, were considered as replacements, but with rain expected and Knockhill coming up next weekend, the decision was taken not to put their own championships at risk.”
This means American Garrett Gerloff will be on solo riding duties for the team.
Yamaha Motor Europe, Road Racing Manager, Andrea Dosoli said: "We respect Kohta’s decision not to ride this weekend, it is obviously tough for him not to be competing, but we don’t want a situation where the injury worsens and he has to miss more rounds.
"Due to the expected weather conditions this weekend, the limited track time we could have offered, and with the next British Superbike round just one week away, we believe it is not fair or safe to ask our BSB riders to replace Kohta, especially with Jason leading the championship and Tarran also having a strong start.
"The GRT Yamaha team will therefore run one bike for Garrett Gerloff this weekend, while we look forward to welcoming Kohta back at the next round at Assen."
