Heading into his second season with the Factory Kawasaki outfit, Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) took to the track for Day 1 of the first test event after the conclusion of the 2025 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship campaign. Among the 2026 novelties, the #31 was integrating during the test was his new Crew Chief, Les Pearson. The duo has joined forces once again after previously working together during the American’s time riding with Yamaha and BMW, and the team are hoping he can provide the insight necessary to help the team back into the fight at the front next season.

DYNAMIC DUO: “I really appreciate Les’s ability to push for things I need as a rider, even if they seem unconventional”

His first season riding in Kawasaki green, 2025 wasn’t up to the standard the Texan rider had hoped for, yet still there were glimpses of his trademark speed. While the team didn’t have much new material to test, the biggest change was personnel. Pearson and Gerloff have built a strong relationship over years of collaboration, dating back to Gerloff’s time with Yamaha, which he rode until the 2023 season.

On his plan before testing at Jerez and his returning Crew Chief, Gerloff said: “Nothing to test really, the biggest thing is that I have a new crew chief, Les Pearson, who I was working with back with Yamaha and BMW. I’m really excited to have him back with me. I think he brings a lot of really good insight and knowledge, and we’ve had success with him in the past. I’m happy that the team has put their trust in him and me. It’s really just going to be us getting used to everything. He has a lot to go over. He only just got here last night, so he has to learn about all the numbers on the bike. We might try some things, throw some ideas at the wall, see if we get a direction from it, and go from there. I was pushing to bring Les in throughout last year. I liked Pietro; it wasn’t that I didn’t think he wasn’t knowledgeable or that I didn’t like him, but I really appreciate Les’s ability to push for things I need as a rider, even if they seem unconventional. I think this will be the best for me, which will be the best for the team and Kawasaki.”

After Day 1 of testing, Gerloff expanded on his team’s situation and what’s next for him and Pearson: “It was good! It’s nice having a familiar face back with me; it’s like we never stopped working together. I feel like we collaborate really well together. All in all, it was good. He was quiet the last 15 minutes or so of the session, thinking about what we can do to improve; we need to put our heads together and figure out what we can improve going into January testing. We want to put everything on the table to figure out what we can do to get faster.”

AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT: “I’ve been liking the bike, and I think I’ve been riding it well, but I need to find some improvements in those areas to get the most out of it as I can”

Speaking in terms of tangible parts on the bike, Gerloff drew particular attention to several aspects of the Kawasaki ZX-10RR that he wants to improve upon. Notably, to him, a crucial area he would like to see growth in is his cornering speed. In terms of flat-out speed, Gerloff has set record speeds at many tracks, such as this last season breaking the top speed record at Most of 309.3 km/h, four km/h faster than the second fastest time. The #31 hopes that rectifying issues like corner speed and stability will help him break back into the top five, where he frequented in seasons past.

On their physical testing regimen and where he wants to improve this offseason, Gerloff said: “No new parts or anything, I want to try to get some more corner speed, which is my main focus. It comes down to the front grip, where I struggled in the races. I hope we can find something that helps me figure some of that out, as well as stability and issues with wheelieing. I’ve been liking the bike, and I think I’ve been riding it well, but I need to find some improvements in those areas to get the most out of it as I can.”

Catch Gerloff next season and look back on his best moments in the Championship with the WorldSBK VideoPass!