Garrett Gerloff sticks with Yamaha for 2022 WorldSBK, won’t step up to MotoGP

Garrett Gerloff has joined Toprak Razgatlioglu in committing his immediate future to Yamaha for the 2022 WorldSBK Championship, thus eliminating him from contention for a potential MotoGP seat.

The American has proven something of a revelation since switching from MotoAmerica to WorldSBK at the start of the 2020 season, overcoming a lack of experience with the circuits and the tyres to emerge as a consistent front runner.

To date he has achieved five podiums and sits sixth in the 2021 WorldSBK standings ahead of this weekend’s fifth round at Assen, the scene of his surprise maiden MotoGP outing earlier this month with Petronas SRT Yamaha.

That outing, in place of the injured Franco Morbidelli, had raised speculation he could be one of the riders in contention for a full-time seat with the MotoGP outfit for 2022.

However, Yamaha has now confirmed Gerloff will indeed stay with Yamaha for 2022, though it doesn’t mention whether he will step up to the factory Pata Yamaha squad with Razgatlioglu or stay on factory-supplied machinery with his current GRT Yamaha team.

“I’m really excited to have signed this contract with Yamaha to continue with them next year. I’ve had a great time in Europe over the past year and a half, and I’ve been really happy with the progress I’ve seen within myself, the GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team and the Yamaha R1. 

“We’ve made serious steps forward already this season, allowing us to consistently challenge for the podium, but I know there is more to come. We have been so close to that first win, within touching distance at Donington Park, and with the support of Yamaha and the team, I'm confident we can do it before the season is out.”