Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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VOL. 54 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 19, 2017 P183 Charlotte's Web corner, which dropped him to the back of the pack with race winner Beach clearing off into the distance. Despite that little mishap, Ger- loff used the opportunity to show just how fast he really is, taking the fastest lap of the race as he scythed his way onto the podium and into a date with destiny. "The way it worked out, I just made that mistake, braked too late," says Gerloff. "So, the whole race I was fighting to get back up on the podium. There was no way I was going to win the championship and not be on the podium. That wasn't the way I wanted to do it. I busted my ass the whole race and tried to get perfect, clean laps and have fun. It was nice because I knew I wasn't going to win the race, so I just had fun and enjoyed it, knowing I couldn't do anything wrong except not finish." And in much the same fashion as Kenny Roberts Jr. did at Mo- tegi in 2000, with the champion- ship in the bag, Gerloff showed them who's boss in race two with a 4.787-second win over Beach with Debise a massive 24 seconds back in third. "That race I was like, 'I'm winning this thing or crashing.' It was cool to have that mentality. I've never won a championship a race before the last race, so to know that race didn't matter, and "We've been helping him since he was 15." T eam Y.E.S./Graves/Yamaha team principle Chuck Graves has worked with some of the best and brightest American racers of the past 15 years, but he sees something special in his double supersport champion, Garrett Gerloff. Graves and his organization have been working fulltime with Gerloff since 2012 but Graves was helping him throughout his rise to the pros as a teenager, and has seen Gerloff ma- ture into an intelligent but ultimately tenacious racer who is beginning to understand the value of self-belief. "When you're able to win a championship and put that behind you, you've reached this goal and a lot of weight comes off of your shoulders," Graves says. "As an individual, it's then easier to let your real talent come out. Each year Garrett's improved his rider plan and how he attacks a championship, from the first day of a test to the first day of a race weekend. He's been able to develop as an individual. Winning that first championship really makes a big difference, I think, from a rider's standpoint. This year he knew his op- ponents, his machine and his crew. It made things really start to click. "He's growing up as a young man, too. Your confidence builds and builds as you age, too. He's just start- ing to come into his own. He's just scratching the surface. "Communication-wise he's strong in a lot of areas," continues Graves. "He only picks out the things that are really necessary to deal with in terms of feedback on the bike. If you can give him a better bike with more grip, he's going to get around the racetrack faster. This year he proved that with the new tire. I think it gave him more confidence in that mid-lean area, which is a big improvement on Dunlop's part. "Garrett's real strongpoint is he doesn't know his limit. He's got a long way to go to find that." Graves (left) knows he's helped develop one of America's brightest racing stars. "LAGUNA HAD BEEN MY WORST TRACK EVERY YEAR THE LAST FOUR YEARS. BUT THIS YEAR, I WAS JUST LIKE, 'THIS IS GOING TO BE MY WEEKEND. I'M GOING TO WIN THIS RACE.' I WAS JUST SO PUMPED UP." The double New Jersey win put one had and four fingers on title number two.