The Texan star will spend a third season with the factory Kawasaki effort after re-signing for next season.
Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) will remain in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship in 2027 after inking a new deal with the factory Kawasaki squad for next year. It will take him to a third year in green after joining Manuel Puccetti’s team in 2025, with the #31 showing considerable progress this year on the revised ZX-10RR.
GERLOFF’S EARLY WORLD SUPERBIKE CAREER
The American star moved to WorldSBK from the MotoAmerica championship, where he finished fifth in his rookie campaign and third in 2019, with four wins and 11 podiums to his name. He made his debut in WorldSBK in 2020 with GRT Yamaha, taking three podiums in his rookie campaign and finishing in 11th place. In 2021, he bettered that by four positions, even if he took one podium fewer. Another rostrum followed in 2022 but he left the Yamaha family at the end of the year and joined Bonovo Action BMW.
IMPRESSING WITH BMW
Although he didn’t take any podiums in his first year on the M1000RR machine, the Texan claimed his first pole position at Magny-Cours. He finished 12th in the standings that year and was ninth in 2024, when he claimed two more podiums, at Aragon and Magny-Cours, but it would only be a two-year stint on the BMW as he moved to Kawasaki for 2025.
EARLY STRUGGLES, BIG GAINS
Gerloff struggled to break into the top ten in his first year on the ZX-10RR, only managing it seven times in his 34 races – and five of those came in one run between Race 2 at Misano and Race 1 at Balaton Park. However, a combination of more experience on the Kawasaki and a revised homologation for this season has allowed the 30-year-old to shine, more often than not fighting in the top ten and, particularly across the three rounds in May, for the top five. Those performances have earned him a third year in green, where he will hope to make more progress over the second half of 2026 and next year as well.
Discussing his new contract, Gerloff stated: “I am just super-happy to have another opportunity to stay with Kawasaki and race the Ninja ZX-10RR in WorldSBK for another year. I feel that we have made so much progress this year, and we have been able to fight closer to the top five positions more consistently. Top five, at the minimum, is where I want to be, so it is nice that Kawasaki helped me to keep getting faster with the bike and the team. I hope next year we can do even more. I’m happy that they have confidence in me and I have confidence in them and that we can keep going. It is also very nice to announce that we are continuing together during the team’s home round at Misano.”
Team Principal Puccetti said: “We are really delighted to announce the renewal of Garrett Gerloff’s contract for what will be the third consecutive year. I have always considered him a rider of great talent and an exceptional person. Together we can continue to believe in our WorldSBK project with Kawasaki, continuing our objective of aiming ever higher.”
Discussing the renewal, Zhenyu Cui, Kawasaki Motorsports Project Manager, said: “Within Kawasaki’s Team Green Racing Development Ladder programme, both team operations and machine performance have continued to strengthen. Although Garrett faced some initial challenges last season, we are now witnessing demonstrable progress thanks to his growing familiarity with the Ninja ZX-10RR plus ongoing fine‑tuning. He has shown a commendably strong sporting attitude and commitment. We are confident he will flourish within the Team Green environment and deliver positive results.”
Steve Guttridge, Kawasaki Europe Race Planning Manager, added: “It’s been an absolute pleasure to work directly with Garrett and his pit-box crew these past two seasons, and in doing so, helping our Official Team improve their overall performance and potential with the Ninja ZX-10RR. The WorldSBK Championship is the global pinnacle of production racing, so the general level of both man and machine is super high. Watching Garrett realising his potential on our official Superbike package this year is already delivering additional motivation for all involved inside our Kawasaki WorldSBK Team for the 2027 season.”
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