Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK Prepare For European Leg at Catalunya Test
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu and Andrea Locatelli both worked through extensive “to-do lists” in a two-day test programme for Yamaha at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, following the final day of running today in Spain.
Along with new hardware upgrades, the key area of development came in the form of improved electronics strategies for Razgatlıoğlu, targeted to match his riding style. The Turkish rider had an extremely positive initial shakedown on Tuesday afternoon at the Catalonian circuit, using a half-day of his test allocation thanks to the assistance of Belgian track-day company Bikers’ Days.
Locatelli joined his teammate for the remaining two full days of testing, where the riders both completed a combined total of 196 laps working closely with their engineers on a raft of potential improvements across electronics, set-up specific to the challenging circuit layout and components aimed at increasing rear grip and acceleration. Data collected during the two days focused solely on race pace, without either rider attempting an outright qualifying time.
Three weeks remain until the first European round of the season at TT Circuit Assen, with Free Practice starting on 21 April. This “riders’ circuit” has played host to many last lap battles since its inclusion on the WorldSBK calendar in 1992 and Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK, alongside Yamaha’s engineers, are leaving no stone unturned in the quest to fight for the win once again.
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu – 1:41.196
“The second day for me was not easy because we tried many, many parts. But in general, I am not really happy – we did a fast lap of 1’41.1 but for me it is not a “real” time, because my bike was not full ready for time attack – I just ride new Pirelli tyre but the feeling is good grip. Now we use updated electronics which have been working good and we are improving this every session, but today my big problem was more on the bike set-up for this circuit, when we tried new parts I am not finding the good bike set-up. Testing is difficult – I enjoyed yesterday morning but it can be hard because we try many new parts and sometimes we are lost and sometimes the feeling is good. Now testing is finished and we are focused on Assen. Thanks to my team for a huge effort in the past two days.”
Andrea Locatelli – 1’41.476
“We tried a lot of things and tried to find a good way with the bike but it was really difficult, I don’t know why. This track for sure is a bit different in respect to the other tracks – we also did not try to use the qualifying tyre so we don’t know our full potential. The pace was not so bad with the race tyre but we still have some work to do for the race. On the long run, it was difficult in the final laps of the simulation – but it was important to be back on track and try to learn something here and understand what we need to do. I have a good confidence from Phillip Island and Mandalika, so we will try to be back in the fight when we are in Assen – we will try to push and see what’s possible. It was an important two days, we were riding a lot and we give the guys a lot of data to work through to find a good solution when we come back here for the race.”
