Saturday in Portimão showed us a Garrett Gerloff who is approaching the top ranks again. After the problems he had at Assen, the American showed his confidence on the R1 in Portimão and finished sixth behind Haslam’s Honda.
It’s a shame that the GRT driver regrets his lack of consistency, which has kept him from competing with the fastest.
“Without all the falls, I would have come tenth or just under the top ten,” he admitted. “The problem is my lack of consistency in the race. I drove three good laps, but then lost my pace and finally recovered. It’s a shame because I was confident before the race, but it didn’t go as expected. So we’ll see what we need to do tomorrow to move forward in terms of performance. “
Garrett’s attention then shifts to the stars and stripes surrounding Austin and relevant controversy.
“When I heard MotoGP riders complaining about the dips over the past few years, I thought they were sissies. But after trying MotoGP in Assen, I understand your complaints. The MotoGP is a prototype that is incredibly sensitive and in Assen, for example, you can see why the tarmac is so perfect. Personally, I would never take a MotoGP bike out to race in Austin because it’s dangerous. “
Garrett executes.
“I would ride a superbike there because I know the bike and know how to handle the dips. In MotoGP, however, the situation is completely different, because the bike becomes unstable in all areas and consequently keeps moving. I think it’s really complicated to race in these conditions and I understand the dissatisfaction. “