Gerloff ‘devastated, I can only apologise to Toprak and Yamaha’

GRT Yamaha rider Garrett Gerloff leaves WorldSBK Assen ‘devastated’ following yet another race incident. 

While no mistake caused by a rider that leads to another crashing is acceptable, the golden rule of all Motorsport is not to take out a team-mate - or in this case fellow rider from the same manufacturer. 

But that’s exactly what happened during race two at Assen when Gerloff hit Toprak Razgatlioglu - leading to the Pata Yamaha rider crashing from the lead. 

Gerloff’s talent has never been in question; just look at the American’s adaptability from Superbike to MotoGP machinery, coming from the back of the field to claim top five finishes on more than one occasion, or claiming a podium at Donington in his first ever appearance.

However, it’s the reckless nature of his riding that sometimes unravels all the good. There have already been three key instances of that this season; Aragon when he lunged down the inside of Rea and crashed, Estoril where hit the rear of Michael Rinaldi after getting completely out of shape, and yesterday’s incident - shades of Aragon when Gerloff braked too late and had nowhere to go but into the rider ahead. 

After the race, Gerloff said: "I'm devastated and I can only apologise to Toprak and to Yamaha for today. 

"I got a good start from the third row of the grid, I felt the contact in turn one, but I didn't realise it was Toprak until I looked back. 

"I'm sorry for him, as he paid a big price for my mistake, but also for Yamaha, who have worked tirelessly to mount a championship challenge. 

"I can only apologise to both, although I am well aware that this won't change the outcome."

Yamaha’s faith in the American also can’t be questioned until now as they gave him a one-year extension before the weekend began - could lead to a MotoGP ride even though it’s contracted to WorldSBK. But moments like yesterday will need to be eliminated if the good faith placed in him is to continue.  

Team-mate Kohta Nozane moved up to sixteenth in the championship following a round five that produced a double points finish for the Japanese rider. 

"Today my Superpole Race was not that good and I discussed with the team about how we could make some set-up improvements for Race 2. These changes worked and I was very happy, my time in the race was quicker than my qualifying time," added Nozane. 

"Unfortunately, my finger is not recovered 100 per cent still and with 16 laps to go I found it very difficult to keep my pace until the end, so it was tough to keep the rider behind. 

"In the end, I finished 12th but of course at Yamaha everyone is riding the same bike, so when I see the others, I think that even though I’m a rookie, I have to convince myself to aim higher. 

"To the next race in Czech Republic, it’s the first time for everyone, so there I hope to be able to reach another level to get closer to the other Yamaha riders."