Garrett Gerloff will ride for his third manufacturer in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship next season after inking a deal with the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing for the 2025 campaign. The American star has ridden for Yamaha and BMW in his five seasons so far but will soon add the Kawasaki ZX-10RR to his collection when he links up with Manuel Puccetti’s squad for next season following his current team in their current guise, Bonovo Action BMW, announcing they’d withdraw from WorldSBK at the end of 2024. The team also confirmed their plans for 2025, including being an ‘Official’ Kawasaki team using this year’s ZX-10RR for Gerloff, with the team committing to a one-bike setup.

GERLOFF MAKES HIS MARK: podiums in his first season

The #31 made the switch from MotoAmerica to World Superbike in 2020 and, after adapting to his new surroundings, soon found himself as a podium contender with the GRT Yamaha outfit. He ended his debut season with three rostrums – in Race 2 in Barcelona and in two races at Estoril – and backed that up with two more in 2021. He was third in the Tissot Superpole Race at Aragon to open the season in style, before claiming second in Race 2 at Donington Park. His final year with Yamaha was more challenging with Race 1 in Barcelona his sole visit to the rostrum.

A NEW CHALLENGE: switching to the BMW M 1000 RR

Gerloff opted to leave the Yamaha family for the 2023 campaign and linked up with the Bonovo Action BMW team, first alongside Loris Baz and then as teammate to Scott Redding this season. Although he hasn’t been able to take the M 1000 RR to the rostrum, he ended the 2023 season as the top BMW rider, often challenging for a podium and claiming a surprise pole position at Magny-Cours. The highs of 2024 haven’t been so prominent for the Texas-born star, with a best result of P8 at Most in Race. After Misano, it was announced that the team, in its current guise, would leave WorldSBK at the end of the season, leaving Gerloff searching for a new seat.

SIXTH SEASON, THIRD MANUFACTURER: Kawasaki awaits for Gerloff

It didn’t take Gerloff too long to find himself a seat on the world stage for 2025, signing a contract with the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing outfit. Kawasaki will become the third manufacturer Gerloff has ridden for in his WorldSBK career, following on from Yamaha and BMW. The team have committed to using the Kawasaki ZX-10RR next year despite the Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team’s new project, keeping the ‘Ninja’ brand in WorldSBK. It will be a one-bike structure for the #31 using the current season ZX-10RR, with hardware and data transferred to Puccetti Kawasaki as they become the “official” Kawasaki team; Bimota by KRT will be the Factory team.

FROM THE TEAM: “We will field current season KRT Ninja ZX-10RR machinery… this is a dream come true!”

Team owner Manuel Puccetti was delighted with his new signing, saying: “On behalf of myself and my team - as well as my sponsors and my family - I would like to express what an honour and privilege this is. Since my first days in racing I personally appreciate the elements that make a rider or team successful. I started racing on a 125cc production machine in an Italian cup race in the late 1990s and by 2002 I had taken the challenging step to become a team owner. Just one truck, some motorcycles and a loyal group of sponsors to start with. Yet, from these beginnings, we worked and worked to become what we are now; a team with World, European and National Championships to our credit and a success record that includes over 120 podiums. In 2025, we will field current season KRT Ninja ZX-10RR machinery and I can only say this is a dream come true. Rest assured we will do our best to fulfil the ambitions of Ninja fans across the world in the coming season. We are truly honoured.”    

KAWASAKI SAYS: “It’s important to maintain a presence in WorldSBK with our Ninja brand”

Shigemi Tanaka, General Manager, Marketing & Sales Division, Kawasaki Motors, Ltd, added: “Manuel has a unique combination of experience, achievement and enthusiasm and his record of success is testament to his tenacity and professionalism. Already the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing team are working closely with KRT in the current WorldSBK Championship, so the channels of communication on WorldSBK issues are firmly established and productive. For Kawasaki, it’s important to maintain a presence in WorldSBK with our Ninja brand. With our support for Kawasaki Puccetti and via the transfer on loan of our factory Ninja ZX-10RR race assets - we can publicly show our appreciation of Kawasaki Puccetti Racing and be confident that the Ninja brand will continue to play a significant role in the WorldSBK paddock.”

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