Gerloff Tastes MotoGP
V
alentino Rossi was back at
the November 8 MotoGP
round in Valencia despite testing
positive for Covid-19 the Tues-
day before the race. However,
subsequent tests on Wednesday
and Friday came back negative,
meaning the 41-year old could
return to the track on Saturday.
In his place, American Garrett
Gerloff rode as Yamaha's sub-
stitute rider for Friday's prac-
tice. The conditions were by no
means easy: the World Super-
bike star had a wet FP1 session
and a damp but drying FP2 to
experience a MotoGP machine
for the first time. He ended the
day 19th fastest, just 1.5 seconds
off first place.
"I'm still smiling," Gerloff said
Friday evening. "It feels some-
what like the R1 I have been
riding all year but then everything
was another step. It was so nice
to feel the power, how fast the
bike shifts, how good the tires
are, the brakes.
"In the back of my mind I
was thinking 'alright, this bike is
expensive and it's not mine, so
I should probably take care of
it.' And then I didn't realize that
Valentino was in the pits dur-
ing the second session, and so
when I came in after the session
ended he was there. One of the
first things he said was, 'Oh man
good job and thanks for taking
care of my bike!'"
Neil Morrison
IN
THE
WIND
P28
American Garrett
Gerloff ended up
not racing Valentino
Rossi's bike at the
Valencia MotoGP
round, but did get a
couple of practice
sessions in on it.
PHOTO: GOLD & GOOSE
