American rider Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) closed out the Prosecco DOC UK Round with one of his best results of the season so far. Scoring points in all three races, the #31 was pleased to finish near the front, just behind the Bimota KB998 Rimini riders—the closest reference he has on the grid, as the two bikes share the same engine. Gerloff’s 2026 season has been a clear step forward compared to 2025, and going forward, the American is looking to make results like these the norm.

SOLID BASE TO BUILD FROM ON SATURDAY

While Tissot Superpole sessions continue to be one of the team’s weaker points this season, Gerloff threw the kitchen sink at Race 1, and by Lap 6 he had regained his P11 starting position from Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) on Lap 3. As the race continued, he settled into a rhythm, moving from P10 to P8 by taking one position per lap from Lap 7 to Lap 9. From there, the two-second gap to Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) only grew, finishing in P8, more than five seconds back from P7.

“SOME GUYS CAN JUST CLOSE THEIR EYES AND STILL DO 10 LAPS FINISHING IN FRONT OF ME, I’M NEVER CONSERVING ANYTHING”

Sunday was where the American made real headway. Starting the Tissot Superpole Race from P11, Gerloff this time dropped two positions early on, but with another opening-lap move on Locatelli, and Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati)’s crash out from P1 on Lap 2, he rode most of the race just outside the points from P10. Slowly but surely, the Texan reeled in six-time WorldSBK Champion Jonathan Rea (Honda HRC Test Team), who was riding as a wildcard in his home round. Six tenths back at the end of Lap 2, he finished Lap 7 a quarter of a second behind the Ulsterman and made the pass for P9 on Lap 8. The result means a welcome return to taking points from the Superpole Race, as while the short races were fruitful at Australia, Balaton Park, and Most, he had more recently struggled, landing P12 at Aragon and P14 at Misano.

On his Sunday morning finish in the points, Gerloff said: “The Superpole Race was tough, I feel like some guys can just close their eyes and somehow still do 10 laps finishing in front of me, whereas every time I go out, I’m going as fast as I can I’m never conserving anything.It’s always tough when someone can find half a second and stay in front of me. It wasn’t as good as Race 1, but I was able to get Jonny and start Race 2 on the third row. I’d say overall I’d give it a grade of a B, maybe a B+. Top ten in all the races was good, but for sure I want to be closer to Alex and Axel in the Superpole Race, and I want to beat at least one of them every weekend. I didn’t do that on Sunday, but I’m content.”

“IF I HAD FINISHED ANY LOWER DOWN, IT WOULD HAVE HAD A LOT LONGER OF A PLANE RIDE ON MONDAY”

Gerloff saved the best for last, however, as with an improved starting position of P9, there was no looking back for the #31. This time around, the American defended his starting position at lights out, even overtaking Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) for P8. Seven laps later, Tommy Bridewell (Superbikes Advocates) suffered a technical issue, forcing him to retire from the race, and when Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) put a hand up, seemingly suffering a technical issue of his own on Lap 19, Gerloff took P6 from the #14 at the Old Hairpin. He went on to finish there, putting a feather in the cap of the American to head off into the summer break with a good result.

After Race 2, Gerloff was pleased with his top six; he said: “It’s a great way to finish before the summer break! If I had finished any lower down, it would have had a lot longer of a plane ride on Monday. It’s nice to be up there near the Bimotas, which are essentially the only sort of reference I have. To be within a second of Alex is good, and I think that if I hadn’t gotten stuck behind Sam for a lap, I felt like I had  the pace to catch him. I’m happy that we ended the weekend with our best setup. I hope we can continue like this at Magny-Cours; it’s a track I really like.”

Gerloff and the rest of the field will be back in action in September! Tune in live and watch the entire season up to this point as well as past seasons OnDemand with the WorldSBK VideoPass! Now 70% off!