The experienced American competitor undertook his first WorldSBK race weekend with his Italian-based team at Phillip Island in Australia in late February, securing points in the second full distance race. Between 28-30 March he will take part in the second round of the year at the officially-titled Autodromo Internacional do Algarve.

Gerloff could not quite find the same relative performance level in Australia that he had shown in winter testing, but he is determined mood to get back into race action and demonstrate both his and his machine’s true pace during the second round.

Since the opening round in Australia Garrett has been training hard on his fitness at home in Texas. His physical preparation regime has recently been boosted when he took delivery of a KX250 training bike from his local Kawasaki dealer. Like many of his peers Garrett finds off-road riding not just an enjoyable form of intense exercise but an invaluable aid in honing and maintaining his machine control skills away from the racetrack.

The Kawasaki WorldSBK team, which is the lone WorldSBK entry for the famous Japanese manufacturer in 2025, did not test at the recent two-day private track sessions at Portimao - as the circuit on near the Algarve coast is often known. That makes the first point of order for rider and team on Friday 28 March to find a strong machine set-up during the first two free practice sessions.

Superpole qualifying and a 20-lap Race One will be held at the intense 4.592km long track on Saturday 29 March. A ten-lap Superpole ‘Sprint’ race will kick off the action on the final day at Portimao, with a second 20-lap race ending the competition at the second round.

The Portimao circuit layout is arguably the most uniquely designed on the whole WorldSBK calendar, with a seemingly inexhaustible series of sharp elevation changes and blind corner entries making it a true test of rider concentration and confidence.

Garrett Gerloff, stated: “The long break is finally over and I’m happy to get back on my Ninja. After the winter tests and the first round at Phillip Island we needed to analyse all the data to understand which direction to take, in order to make our bike more competitive. At Portimao we’ll try to find a good base on which to build, before looking for the best set-up around this amazing, winding track. I’ve not stopped training and feel ready for this second round.”