Gerloff: 'Epic to be back on my Yamaha R1', finishes Aragon test second

'Epic and nice' were the words Garrett Gerloff used when summing up his first pre-season WorldSBK test of 2022. 

Back aboard his Yamaha R1 for the first time since last year’s WorldSBK season finale at Mandalika, Gerloff was very impressive as he finished the Aragon test less than a tenth behind reigning world champion Toprak Razgatlioglu. 

The American, who struggled for much of the 2021 season, was regularly inside the top two of what was a five-rider-strong private Yamaha test. 

Gerloff spent much of the weather-affected test focusing on the team’s new brakes’ package and electronics, however, two areas that weren’t touched at all were the suspension and geometry. 

Gerloff said: "It's so epic and nice to be back on my Yamaha R1 after a long time. Yesterday when I rode the bike again it was quite a shock! Today it was so cool to have a full dry day; we tried a bunch of new stuff, including new brakes, and didn't touch suspensions or geometry. 

"I'm just focusing on myself, getting the rhythm and those things. During the off-season I worked a lot on myself to improve every aspect, from physical one to mental one. 

"I'm feeling to be in a really good place and glad to be back, now let's keep working and see how the things go in another track like Misano." 

Fourth fastest was team-mate Kohta Nozane who needs a big 2022 season for the GRT Yamaha outfit. 

Nozane completed 90 laps on his first action of the year, which was fourth best - only Christophe Ponsson had less (84). 

Like Gerloff, Nozane was busy testing a variety of new parts and felt like he left the Aragon test in good shape, despite being 1.4 seconds off the American. 

Nozane added: "Finally we are back. It was such a long time! We had many test items and it was not easy to manage all the jobs, but in the end we are satisfied and the job was done well. 

"It's cool that we had the possibility to make a lot of laps today and it's a good start for 2022 season. 

"Now let's move to Misano: I like a lot the circuit and I cannot wait to be there, Italy is like my second home!"