Locatelli Returns to the Podium in Super Strong Misano Sunday for Pata Maxus Yamaha
Andrea Locatelli celebrated a well-deserved podium in the Superpole Race this morning, followed by a fighting fourth place finish in Race 2 at Misano World Circuit as Round 6 of the FIM Superbike World Championship concluded today.
Pata Maxus Yamaha’s Italian rider fully maximised his Yamaha R1 WorldSBK package with zero mistakes in front of an enthusiastic home crowd of more than 76,000 people with a trio of strong results across the weekend’s three races.
Third place in the Superpole Race was the highlight and a testament to Locatelli’s consistently strong riding and his exceptional race starts. Coming through from P8 on the grid was ‘no problem’ and the #55 took hold of the podium position into Turn 4 on the opening lap and looked in control across all 10 Laps on his way to collect the silverware.
This afternoon the 28-year-old worked hard for a repeat performance, running as high as P2 in the opening laps of Race 2 – the hottest test of the weekend that was equally hard on man, machine and tyres. He did everything he could but was unable to hold off Niccolo Bulega and Alvaro Bautista, taking a well-deserved fourth place finish at the chequered flag.
Third in the championship remains in reach for “Loka” with a three-way chase developing between him, Bautista and Danilo Petrucci. He currently lies fifth, 22 points shy of the bronze FIM medal after taking home a combined total of 31 points from Misano.
Jonathan Rea made a superb comeback to fighting form in the Superpole Race this morning as well, challenging inside the top six and crossing the line seventh to improve his grid position for Race 2. The #65 had a good feeling going into the final race of the weekend, until he unexpectedly crashed out at Turn 1 on the start of Lap 10.
Pata Maxus Yamaha head “home” to Donington Park for the UK Round next month from 11-13 July, the site of Yamaha’s first wins in WorldSBK since its 2016 comeback to the championship, and a happy hunting ground for podiums.
FULL SUPERPOLE RACE RESULTS
FULL RACE 2 RESULTS
Andrea Locatelli – SPRC: P3 / Race 2: P4
“Finally, we reached a good point and good positions, we found the way to be fast and a good feeling here in Misano! Yesterday we made a good race, but today I think we made a positive step and did a really, really good job so we were able to finish on the podium in the Superpole Race – then a P4 in Race 2. I have a feeling inside like I lost the opportunity to get a second podium in Race 2, but the reality is that I pushed hard and did my absolute best and this was the maximum result that we were able to get at the moment. Top five is not bad and we got a lot of points for the championship, because in the last couple of rounds we missed a lot. I want to continue like this with strong results and focus on the next one. I hope until the end of the season we can have some really good weekends, get some podiums and let’s try to push for another victory.”
Jonathan Rea – SPRC: P7 / Race 2: DNF
“The Superpole Race firstly enabled me to start on the third row for the long race. I got some good track position at the start, obviously when there was the carnage with Bulega and Bassani, everything just opened up for me and I found myself sixth or seventh and my race sort of stayed there! Sam Lowes was coming strong at the end and I couldn’t just quite fight with him. My bike was feeling quite good in the cooler conditions, we used the SCQ tyre and it lasted all the race. The feeling going into the long race was a positive one, my starts on the Yamaha R1 have been incredible recently, so I put myself facing down the left-hand side of the track thinking I could run around that group in front. But, I got squeezed wide in T1 and bottle-necked in T2, so any track positions I gained from the start I lost and from that point I was in a group – then lost touch as Lecuona was just riding away from me a little bit, but I was clear from the guys behind. I lost the front in Turn 1 at the apex, it was a strange crash and frustrating because the trajectory of the weekend had been really positive from missing FP1 to finishing seventh in the Superpole Race and it’s unfortunate to end on a tough note.”
Paul Denning – Team Principal, Pata Maxus Yamaha:
“Sunday in Misano dawned even hotter than yesterday and stayed that way! It was a tough day for the riders and for the crew – both sides of the garage, Yamaha and our Ohlins support engineer worked hard to make small steps forward compared to Race 1 and the work was well-rewarded with Loka’s podium in the Superpole Race – and of course a huge step forward for JR coming through to finish P7 having started from P15 on the grid. Very strong performances by both riders and vastly improving our chances for Race 2 this afternoon with much better grid positions. Andrea gave it everything he had for 21 laps, to be beaten only by Toprak and the two factory Ducatis at their home circuit in Misano is, in reality, the maximum that we could take today. The R1 was working well, Loka maximised both his and the bike’s potential, and sometimes P4 has to be accepted as a positive result. Well done to Andrea and his team on a really strong weekend! JR’s great Superpole ride unfortunately wasn’t able to be built on, as he lost the front at the start of Lap 10 into Turn 1 when lying in a solid P9 and performing well. It’s a real shame because another full race distance would have helped JR take a step back towards his normal level, but there were certainly strong signs of his raw talent and clear ambition today – and we will look forward to maximising those at his home race in Donington next.”
