Yamaha has retained the services of Texan Garrett Gerloff for the 2022 WorldSBK season and kept another potential champion out of Lin Jarvis’ clutches.

Off the back of his best-ever WorldSBK championship result at Donington Park, where he finished second in the final race of the British round, Gerloff’s chances of taking that extra step towards his first series victory will be further bolstered by this new one-year extension.

The 25-year-old has been a revelation since arriving in the WorldSBK paddock from MotoAmerica at the beginning of 2020. Despite having never raced at any of the European venues, Gerloff quickly adapted and by the second half of his debut season was a regular podium challenger, taking top three finishes with the GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team at Barcelona and Estoril.

“I’m really excited to have signed this contract with Yamaha to continue with them next year. I’ve had a great time in Europe the past year and a half, and I’ve been really happy with the progress I’ve seen within myself, the GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team and the Yamaha R1,” said Gerloff.

“We’ve made serious steps forward already this season, allowing us to consistently challenge for the podium, but I know there is more to come. We have been so close to that first win, within touching distance at Donington Park, and with the support of Yamaha and the team I’m confident we can do it before the season is out.”

Benefiting from the 2021-spec Yamaha R1 this year, Gerloff has continued to show race winning potential, with two podium finishes at Aragón and Donington Park seeing him lie sixth in the riders’ standings, while the Texan also impressed on his MotoGP race debut with the Petronas Yamaha SRT team at Assen.

It is unclear whether Gerloff will remain in the satellite GRT squad or switch with the underperforming Andrea Locatelli and rid in the works team with Toprak Razgalioglu.