Daytona SportBike rider Garrett Gerloff will not return from his broken leg until at least the Barber Motorsports Park round in June, and as a result the Y.E.S. Graves Yamaha team is considering extending Tommy Hayden’s deal as Gerloff’s substitute. Gerloff, age 16, broke his right femur in a crash March 15 during a practice session at Daytona. In April he told Roadracingworld.com that he hoped to return to race May 26-28 at Miller Motorsports Park, Round Four of the Championship, but after his most recent doctor’s appointment Gerloff has reset his sights on a return during Round Six, June 22-24 at Barber Motorsports Park. “The doctor said I’m right on time as far as recovery goes. The bone is healing good and everything,” 16-year-old Gerloff told Roadracingworld.com Friday at Infineon Raceway. “The only problem is it’s not going to be healed enough to ride at Miller, as far as if I were to crash again the bone wouldn’t be strong enough to take it. The doctor said the earliest I can come back is Barber. That’s what I’m listening to right now, and that’s who the team wants me to listen to. It’s hard watching, but it will be good when I come back because I’ll be ready.” Veteran Tommy Hayden was called into action to ride in place of Gerloff at Daytona. Yamaha then extended Hayden’s deal to include a test at Homestead-Miami Speedway and the races at Road Atlanta and Infineon Raceway. Considering Gerloff’s recovery update, Roadracingworld.com asked Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A. Racing Division Manager Keith McCarty where the Y.E.S. Graves Yamaha team stood in regards to continuing with Hayden. “I think he’s [Hayden] done a great job for us,” said McCarty. “We committed to three races. We’re going to kind of play things race-by-race at this point. Again, he’s doing a great job. We’ll get through this weekend, and make the decisions next week.”
Injured Gerloff Still Not Cleared By Doctor, And Yamaha Is Considering Extending Tommy Hayden’s Deal As Substitute
Injured Gerloff Still Not Cleared By Doctor, And Yamaha Is Considering Extending Tommy Hayden’s Deal As Substitute
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