Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1525243
Garrett Gerloff Signs With Kawasaki Puccetti Racing T wo questions relating to the 2025 WorldSBK Champion- ship were answered recently with news that current Bonovo Action BMW rider Garrett Gerloff will ride for the Kawasaki Puc - cetti Racing squad next year, and on the current official Ninja ZX-10RR machines. The same machines ridden in 2024 by race winner Alex Lowes and his team - mate Axel Bassani. Gerloff's future in WorldSBK was recently put in doubt when his current squad decided to pull out in 2025, removing two official-level BMW machines from the paddock. With Kawasaki's current effort soon effectively morphing into a joint Bimota and Kawasaki effort—Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team—it is all change in many ways for 2025. But what would happen to the venerable but still win-capable Ninjas run by KRT this season? The same basic bike that has delivered seven World Champi - onships in the past and two race wins to Lowes this season? The answer is that the Kawa- saki Puccetti Racing team, the same outfit that gave Toprak Razgatlioglu his first WorldSBK race wins and podiums when he was a privateer, will run the current KRT machines in 2025. (They already have a KRT- supplied Ninja for their current rider, Tito Rabat, but this seems something more.) With Gerloff becoming avail - able and a guarantee of recent factory bikes, both Gerloff and Manuel Puccetti's long-standing Kawasaki team have found a way to remain at the sharp end of WorldSBK. Given that Kawasaki is servic - ing the needs of three KRT-spec bikes in 2024, having enough spares, parts and know-how for Gerloff and Puccetti to race competitively in 2025 seems more than possible. Gerloff is still contracted to his current BMW team, so he is limited to what he can say, but when it was brought to his atten - tion that he battled (and won) against the KRT spec machine, he will ride in 2025, and he said, "Yeah! And it looked good! It didn't look too bad. It is going to be interesting for sure, and I am excited about that. It was nice to know that I am going to stay in WorldSBK. I didn't want to leave. I am not stupid, and I know that my results have been not great this year, so I did not know if I was going to be on the chopping block to be sent back home. I knew it was a possibility. I do feel like I am a decent talent out here. I feel like I am fast enough to be racing here, so I really appreciate them having some confidence in me to sign me, and it was nice to know that I am going to be here next year… I will be the only Kawasaki on the grid next year and it is going to be the official team, from what I understand. So it is all positive and for everybody, the team I have now and my future team, I want to give them the most that I can and do the best job I can." Gordon Ritchie WIND IN THE P34 Garrett Gerloff's international career has been saved with a move to Kawasaki for 2025.