Garrett Gerloff raves: "Bonovo BMW is great!" / World Superbike Championship

Garrett Gerloff made his BMW debut in December. At this week’s Jerez test, the 27-year-old will ride the M1000RR in good condition for the first time. He is passionate about his German motorcycle giant Bonovo team.

After three years with Yamaha, Garrett Gerloff moved to the German BMW Bonovo team for the 2023 World Superbike Championship. The Jerez test on Wednesday and Thursday this week is the second test for the 27-year-old on the M1000RR. “It’s good to be back on the bike. Although the winter break wasn’t long this time, I did my first test with BMW in mid-December,” Gerloff said in an interview with SPEEDWEEK.com. “The weather was not so good at the time, so I was looking forward to the next test here.”

The American drove a BMW on a completely dry track for the first time. “I had a little trouble in the morning. Let’s just say, the bike was not the best for me in some parts of the route,” explained Gerloff diplomatically. “But my team is good, especially my chief engineer and my electronics specialist. BMW gives me clear information and after explaining it to my staff, they were able to implement immediately and make improvements.”

A fast lap time isn’t on the Texan’s to-do list in this test. The first day of the exam he clocked a lap time of 1:40.065 minutes, 1.469 seconds slower than the best time of the day set by Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha). “I feel like we have made good progress. I expected the BMW to be different, less advanced and harder to drive,” says the BMW driver. “I’m impressed with how quickly the team is making changes in the right direction. I’m currently focusing on developing a good core configuration.”

Times Jerez Test, January 25, 2023
space	category	Driver (Nat./Motorbike)	time/dif
1.	SBK	Toprak Razgatlioglu (TR/Yamaha)	1:38,597 minutes
2.	SBK	Alvaro Bautista (E/Ducati)	+ 0.255 sec
3.	SBK	Michael Rinaldi (I/Ducati)	+ 0.643
4.	SBK	Jonathan Rea (UK/Kawasaki)	+ 0.705
5.	SBK	Alex Lowes (UK/Kawasaki)	+ 1.087
6.	SBK	Danilo Petrucci (I/Ducati)	+ 1.193
7.	SBK	Xavi Vierge (E/Honda)	+ 1.282
of the 8th.	SBK	Iker Lecuona (E/Honda)	+ 1.286
9.	SBK	Dominique Aegerter (CH/Yamaha)	+ 1.337
10	SBK	Scott Redding (UK/BMW)	+ 1.401
11.	SBK	Garrett Gerloff (USA/BMW)	+ 1.469
12.	SBK	Andrea Locetelli (I/Yamaha)	+ 1,630
13.	SBK	Philipp Öttl (D/Ducati)	+ 1,637
14	SBK	Remy Gardner (AUS/Yamaha)	+ 1.954
15	SBK	Michael v Mark (NL/BMW)	+ 2.173
16	SBK	Tom Sykes (UK/Kawasaki)	+ 2.286
17	SBK	Loris Baz (F/BMW)	+ 2,443
18	SBK	Oliver Koenig (CZ/Kawasaki)	+ 3,034
19	SBK	Lorenzo Baldassarri (I/Yamaha)	+ 3,129
20	SSP	Nicolo Bulega (I/Ducati)	+ 3,857
21	SSP	Can Oncu (TR/Kawasaki)	+ 3,869
22	SSP	Federico Caricasulo (I/Ducati)	+ 3,941
23	SSP	Andrea Mantovani (I/Yamaha)	+ 4,469
24	SBK	Florian Marino (F/Kawasaki)	+ 4,618
25	SSP	John McPhee (UK/Kawasaki)	+ 7,657