The 5.077km long Motorland Aragon circuit featured dry and eventually warm conditions for the first WorldSBK race of the weekend, but first of all, Superpole Qualifying had to be negotiated by Gerloff and 22 of his rivals.

On his Ninja ZX-10RR, Garrett placed 16th in a closely packed Superpole Qualifying. He was just 1.285 seconds from the new track best lap time of the fastest rider, Nicolo Bulega.

In the opening race, held in ambient temperatures of 24°C, Garrett pushed as hard as he could around the expansive Motorland circuit and he would finish in 15th place, improving on his starting position by one position.

Now Motorland will host two more WorldSBK races, on Sunday, 28 September. The Superpole Race, over ten laps, will take place at 11.00 in the morning, with the final 18-lap Race Two taking place at 14.00.

Garrett Gerloff stated: “It has been a difficult day. I don’t feel that I am riding badly; in reality, I feel like I am riding pretty well. I don’t feel like we are making bad set-up changes either. But everybody is going super-fast, so it is what it is. We are going to make some changes for the races on the final day. Race One was a bit forgettable and nothing to report. Time to go faster tomorrow.”