Gerloff ‘disappointed to end chapter’ at Yamaha with Vierge incident

Gerloff secured seventh in the last WorldSBK Superpole Race of the year before falling from his R1 due to contact with the Honda rider on lap one at turn two.

The Yamaha rider clipped Vierge which sent both men onto the grass before simultaneously crashing.

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The American rider was out of the race immediately while Vierge managed to return to pit lane, however, damage was too much for the Spaniard to continue.

Gerloff, who now moves to Bonovo Action BMW alongside Loris Baz, was quick to thank Yamaha for the three seasons they spent together.

"This day has come so quickly, looking back I can't believe my time with this team is already over," added Gerloff. 

"I can't thank Yamaha enough for the opportunity to come to Europe, we enjoyed some amazing moments, and the GYTR GRT Yamaha team has been incredible to be a part of for the last three seasons. 

"We had some ups and downs, but we were always together. You don't have that kind of relationship everywhere and I can't thank them enough for the support. 

"It wasn’t the way I wanted to end the season, I'm somewhat satisfied with the Superpole Race but in Race 2 unfortunately I made contact and wasn't able to make the second corner. 

"It's disappointing to end this chapter like this, but I can only look forwards. All the best to the team and Yamaha for the coming years, we'll see each other on track!" 

Andrea Locatelli already building for crucial 2023 WorldSBK campaign

Although the Italian was largely improved in terms of performance compared to his rookie season, Locatelli remained a long way away from team-mate Toprak Razgatlioglu throughout the season.

In need of a big showing in 2023 if he’s to fend off interest in the second Pata Yamaha seat, Locatelli has already turned his attention to next year.

"For sure we finished the season in a really good way. This is very important to start testing this winter and to start 2023 in a good way," stated the Italian. 

"I'm really happy about the last two rounds. But I am a little bit disappointed with some rounds, like Barcelona... maybe we could have fought for third place in the Championship... but anyway we finished a difficult season in fifth place, so we need to be happy. 

"We need to look forward and we need to prepare for next season and I think we will come back really strong. For sure, we improved."