Garrett Gerloff<\/a> said, speaking to WorldSBK.com after the first day of the Jerez post-race test on 21 October.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt was going better and better [with the previous crew chief] until Donington, and then we just started getting worse and worse. Hard to know why.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is like my last chance to make it happen, otherwise I\u2019ll probably be out of this paddock, to be honest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to put everything on the table that\u2019s going to help me figure out how to get faster, otherwise I\u2019m going to be out of here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gerloff last worked with the British engineer at the Bonovo BMW team, and he explained that the Jerez test was largely about helping Pearson understand the Kawasaki.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t bad,\u201d Gerloff summarised. \u201cThe biggest thing is trying to get my new crew chief, Les Pearson, up to speed, just with all the numbers on the bike and everything that we\u2019ve done for most of the year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe threw a lot of stuff at the bike, changing different setup stuff, geometry, just trying to get an understanding for him and also for myself of what different changes make the bike feel like.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNot going to lie, it gets a bit complicated, I got a little lost a bit, but in the end [we] can be decently happy with how it went.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c[I\u2019m] only testing today, so not going to be testing again until next year. So, it\u2019s kind of a baptism by fire for him to just get up to speed in one day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gerloff added: \u201cIt was nice just to have a familiar face back with me. It\u2019s like we hadn\u2019t even stopped working together, so that was nice, and I feel like we collaborate really well together.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I think, all in all, it\u2019s been good.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Nothing clearly better<\/p>\n
If there was something that frustrated Gerloff about the Jerez test it was the continuation of something he has found all season, which is that the changes he makes to the Kawasaki ZX-10RR do not make the bike better, necessarily, rather they can only alter what the bike does better or worse.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s complicated with this bike sometimes because there\u2019s \u2013 like anything \u2013 positives and negatives,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wish there was something that we tried today that was just all positive, but it just seems like it always balances out to where it\u2019s equal parts negative, equal parts positive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I feel like we did a lot but we just kind of stayed still all day, just doing the same times but changing a lot.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, that\u2019s what frustrates me. But nothing to do with the team or anything, just frustrated with not being able to find something that really makes me feel like I\u2019m taking a step forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Finally, Gerloff says there are some parts he is hoping to receive from Kawasaki in time for the resumption of testing in January, although his main concern remains finding a\u00a0
\u201ccomfortable\u201d setup on the bike.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure there\u2019s going to be some parts that we\u2019re pushing for from Kawasaki\u2019s side, that Les is going to be asking for,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut, really, it\u2019s all setup for me, we\u2019ve just got to find a setup that works. I just haven\u2019t felt comfortable all year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s been a couple of places where I haven\u2019t felt too bad, but I just need to find something that feels like \u2018This is my bike\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a year and I still haven\u2019t got there, so I\u2019ve just got to find that.\u201d<\/p>\n
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