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Gerloff Scores Points and Seeks More Progress After Race One at Assen
Garrett Gerloff and his Kawasaki-supported WorldSBK team wrapped up the opening race of the Assen round of the FIM Superbike World Championship on Saturday, April 12, with a 13th-place finish—adding valuable points to the season tally.
Before lining up for Race One, riders took part in a final Free Practice session followed by the Superpole Qualifying shootout, which determines grid positions for the weekend’s main races. Gerloff posted his personal best lap time in Superpole—improving by over half a second—but still had to start from 17th on the grid.
In the 21-lap race held in surprisingly warm and dry conditions for this time of year in the north of the Netherlands, Gerloff made up several positions aboard his Ninja ZX-10RR to finish 13th. As Kawasaki’s sole rider in WorldSBK this season, he and the team are continuing to refine the bike’s setup, and will now analyze Race One data to make further improvements ahead of Sunday’s two races.
The final day of the Assen round will feature the 10-lap Superpole Race and the full-distance Race Two. Weather conditions are expected to shift, with forecasts predicting rain after two days of clear skies.
Garrett Gerloff:
“There were some positives today. I set my best-ever qualifying lap—over half a second faster than before—so that was encouraging. Unfortunately, it didn’t help much with my starting position. I gave it everything in Race One, but we still need to improve. I’m going to get a good night’s sleep and hope we can find a solution for tomorrow. If it rains, anything can happen.”