Having Americans in world championship series is always good, because generally they are nice people but it’s more for their names.

Don Emde, Dave Aldana, Bubba Shobert, Wes Cooley, Jay Springsteen, Gene Romero, Mert Lawwill, Eddie Lawson, Fred Merkel, Ben Bostrom were all equipped with rockstar names and now we’ve got Garrett Gerloff.

Gerloff is a 24-year-old Texan who made his name as the MotoAmerica Supersport Champion in 2016 and 2017 before joining the Yamaha Factory Superbike Team in 2018, where he made a blazing MotoAmerica Superbike debut with an incredible podium finish.

Four more podium finishes followed that year, with Gerloff ending his rookie season fifth in the championship standings.

After a year of experience on Yamaha’s cutting-edge YZF-R1 machine, Gerloff remained with Yamaha in 2019, securing four race wins and 15 podium finishes on his way to finishing third overall in his second full season of the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship.

He joins the GRT Yamaha WorldSBK squad alongside Federico Caricasulo and here’s a little resume of how he got there:

Even though he was new to the Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha Factory Racing Team for 2018, Garrett was set to be a formidable competitor as a rookie in the MotoAmerica Superbike class on his Yamaha YZF-R1. Testing prior to the start of the series allowed Garrett to get acclimated to his new team and R1 Superbike, and his lap times showed that he was capable of being on the podium.

In 2017 Garrett fought hard to defend his MotoAmerica Supersport Championship, earning the title for the second consecutive year by riding his Monster Energy Yamalube Y.E.S. Graves Yamaha R6 to 8 pole position starts and 17 podium finishes that included 11 race wins.

In 2016, Garrett earned 3 pole positions, notched 6 race wins, and stood on the podium in all but one of the 16 races on his way to winning his first MotoAmerica Supersport Championship. His quiet confidence and consistency helped him take the title and realize his lifelong dream.

In 2015, Garrett won his first career MotoAmerica Supersport race, at Road Atlanta aboard his #31 Yamalube Y.E.S. Graves Yamaha R6. At the following round, Virginia International Raceway, he suffered a fractured finger on his left hand during qualifying. Tough as nails, Garrett battled through the pain, and didn’t miss a single race all season long. He won his second Supersport race of the season on the world stage during MotoGP weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. All told, Garrett reached the podium 10 times in 2015 and earned two pole-positions on his way to second in the overall Supersport championship standings.

In 2014, Garrett won the three-event GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Shootout Pro Sportbike Championship with two race victories and one second-place finish aboard his Yamaha Extended Service Monster Energy Graves Yamaha R6. In addition, he had six top-five finishes in AMA Pro Daytona SportBike (DSB), finishing fifth overall for the 2014 season.

Competing in his first full season of Daytona SportBike competition, Garrett finished third in the 2013 Championship points standings, with 11 top-five finishes that included 5 second-place results.

2012 was Garrett’s rookie season in DSB, having been signed to the Y.E.S. Graves Yamaha team by Chuck Graves. Unfortunately, the year proved to be very challenging for Garrett. In the very first practice session of the very first race of the season, the Daytona 200, Garrett highsided his Yamaha R6 and suffered a fractured femur. He returned to action for the final three rounds of the 2012 season, but he competed in the SuperSport class instead of DSB to get himself back into racing shape. Everything worked out well for Garrett in the season’s final round at NOLA Motorsports Park in New Orleans, where he won Sunday’s race.

In 2011, Garrett raced in the WERA National Challenge Series, where he won the 600 Superstock Expert Championship. He then made his AMA Pro Racing debut at New Jersey Motorsports Park where he learned the track quickly and won his first-ever professional race.

The 2010 season was Garrett’s first year on a 600, and he won the 600 Superbike Expert WERA National Championship. He also won the Youth Rider of the Year Award presented by the AMA Road Race Grand Championships and the AMA RRGC 600 Supersport Expert Championship.

In 2009, Garrett earned a double win at Jennings GP, which was his first victory in USGPRU competition. He was on the podium at every race weekend and, by the end of the year, he wrapped up three USGPRU National Championships and two WERA National Championships.