Tricky conditions greeted the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship riders at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with dry running in the morning replaced by wet running in the afternoon as the inaugural Acerbis Catalunya Round got underway. American Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) starred across both sessions as he finished the day in third place in the combined classification.

A sensational lap right at the end of Free Practice 1 was enough to put Gerloff in third place but he also showed some strong pace in the wet-but-drying conditions in Free Practice 2; the track soaked by an earlier shower. It meant Gerloff finished as the third Yamaha rider in the combined classification, behind factory outfit duo Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) and Michael van der Mark.

Reacting to his day, Gerloff said: “I wish I could tell you we have some magic setup that we found or something like that, but I was using the same stuff we had in Aragon. It seems to be working pretty well for me, but this is kind of a, I call it my home track as I’m staying not too far away, so I have that home town vibe going on. I’m feeling positive and really happy to be out here. The track’s super fun, I feel like it was a track that was built for me! I’m one of those guys who likes to flow, and this track helps me do that. That’s important.”

After showing promising pace in the Pirelli Teruel Round, where he secured a top ten finish for the fifth time in the 2020 WorldSBK season, Gerloff has continued that with third. The American rider will be hoping he can continue that as the Acerbis Catalunya Round continues as he looks to beat his season-best result of eighth; a result he achieved in the Tissot Superpole Race at Jerez.

You can follow more action from the Catalunya Round with the WorldSBK VideoPass!