Garrett Gerloff will ride in MotoGP this weekend – Valentino Rossi is still not

MONSTER Yamaha has confirmed that American WorldSBK racer Garrett Gerloff will take part in a MotoGP practice session as a stand in for Valentino Rossi.

It’s reported that Gerloff with ride today in the Friday practice as Valentino Rossi waits on the results of another COVID-19 test – taken today. The Italian racer has already had one negative result on Thursday after testing positive earlier this week. Should the test taken today come back as negative, Rossi should be allowed to take part in the rest of the weekend’s action.

The America racer has been gifted the ride after a series of stellar results in the WorldSBK championship. Riding for the factory-supported GRT squad, Gerloff enjoyed a phenomenal rookie season on the world stage. The American has claimed three podiums in 2020, the first coming in Barcelona with the other two being taken in Estoril to end the year on a high.

Some are finding the decision to select Gerloff instead of de facto reserve rider, Jorge Lorenzo, more than a little bit strange. Indeed, selecting a relative unknown with zero MotoGP experience over a multiple MotoGP champion looks like a mistake, although there may be more to this than meets the eye. Crash.net is reporting that the move to run Gerloff in place of Lorenzo points to the Spanish legend likely parting company with the Yamaha team at the end of this season.

MotoGP championship standings 2020