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Garrett Gerloff
The new blood in the Motul Superbike class comes in the form of defending 2017 Supersport Champion Garrett Gerloff. The Texan successfully defended his championship ahead of JD Beach in fairly assertive style as he ended the season with a forty-two point advantage ahead of his Yamaha teammate. There were certain points in the season where the twenty-two year old exemplified utter dominance, namely towards the end of the season where he put together seven race wins on the bounce in order to help solidify the title. The winning streak came at a crucial time in the season after an aggressive move in the second race at Utah Motorsports Campus by Beach ended with both riders on the ground on the final lap of action. Gerloff will be sporting his familiar number 31 in the Motul Superbike class and he’s eager to fill the void left by Josh Hayes who announced a new posi- tion with Yamaha after finishing fourth in the Motul Superbike class in 2017. The four-time Superbike champion has stepped into a new role with the team in which he is uniquely qualified for as the second winningest AMA Superbike rider of all time. The forty-one year old will serve as the Yamaha Factory Racing Ambassador and Ya- maha Rider Coach for Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. Hayes will be present to provide feedback and advice through mentorship to the younger riders as a consultant, coach, and so forth. In addition to his responsibilities assisting the youth of the MotoAmerica paddock, Hayes will continue to promote the brand in the MotoAmerica paddock as well.
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