The American was drafted by Petronas SRT for the Dutch Grand Prix to replace the injured Franco Morbidelli, who was excluded from the Assen weekend due to an existing knee injury in training.
Gerloff got his first taste of MotoGP machines in training for the European GP last year when he was brought in as Valentino Rossi’s deputy before the Italian passed a COVID-19 test to get the virus after being laid off from two races return to racing.
As the first American since the late Nicky Hayden in Australia in 2016, Gerloff started in Assen after a fight with Avintias Luca Marini on 17th place.
SRT could need two riders in 2022 should Rossi step down at the end of the year, as expected, and Morbidelli join the Yamaha works team to replace the outgoing Maverick Vinales.
This could open the door for Gerloff to compete in MotoGP full-time in 2022.
“Yes, definitely,” he said after the Dutch TT when asked if he had gotten a taste for MotoGP.
“My goal has been to compete in MotoGP all my life, so I would definitely love to come back and compete in MotoGP.
“But I’m here for this race first and then back to the World Superbikes, which are still my main focus this year.
“So I want to do my best there and then try to earn an opportunity to see GPs again.”
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Gerloff’s Yamaha WSBK stable colleague Toprak Razgatlioglu – who drives for Yamaha’s works team Crescent Racing in the WSBK, while Gerloff is part of the factory-supported GRT squad – is already connected to SRT for 2022.
In an interview with the German edition of Motorsport.com, Yamaha boss Paul Denning says that the brand “won’t get in the way” if either Razgatlioglu or Gerloff get a MotoGP offer.
“I can imagine that Garrett and Toprak are candidates for MotoGP,” said Denning. “That depends on the chances and when. We want to keep both of them here.
“If someone gets a good MotoGP offer, Yamaha won’t get in the way.”