Andrea Locatelli and Xavi Vierge enjoyed two days of “perfect” weather on the Adriatic Coast to complete a productive performance test at Misano World Circuit for Pata Maxus Yamaha.
Warm, sunny temperatures and track conditions up to 50 degrees Celsius greeted many of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship field, whose teams opted to join the private test alongside their competitors in preparation for the Emilia Romagna Round taking place next month.
The mid-season test was a welcome addition to the calendar for the team’s newer Official Yamaha rider, Vierge, who used every opportunity to grow his understanding of the R1 WorldSBK across 96 laps on Wednesday and a further 87 laps today (183 total).
A technical problem halted play for teammate Locatelli this morning for a short time, but the Italian rider was able to continue the extensive test programme and completed a solid day’s work with 68 laps – to clock up a total of 146 across the two days.
Pata Maxus Yamaha and Yamaha’s performance engineers will evaluate the data collected from Misano to find further improvements both for 2026 and future development. Round 6 of the current season is just around the corner, at MotorLand Aragon next week from 29-31 May.
The 5.077km, Hermann Tilke-designed circuit has played host to many last-lap battles where the line taken through the long Turn 16-17 complex, and subsequent corner exit drive to the finish line can decide the race result.
Friday Free Practice 1 will begin at the scheduled time of 10:35 CEST, with Free Practice 2 from 15:00. Fans should note the earlier Race 1 start time on Saturday of 14:00 once again, with Sunday returning to 15:30.
Xavi Vierge:
“It has been a very important two days of testing, we tried plenty of things and we worked with a lot of laps – and we had luck with the weather! As you know, the pre-season was not the best so it was very important to use all the time that we had there to complete plenty of work. Honestly, I am happy – we found some positives that will for sure help in the next races with both the race tyre and the softer tyre. Solid work and of course there’s still a long way to arrive where we want to be – but, I feel like we made a clear step forward and close a little bit the gap with the top guys. Once again, I want to say thank you to the team, because everyone is working so hard to achieve our goals.”
Andrea Locatelli:
“Two days of testing here in Misano and we have been looking to try and find a good feeling with my R1. Today, we struggled a bit in the morning and had a technical problem so we lost some time to work and improve, but overall the rhythm especially on the used tyre was good. It’s always strange conditions, strange track in Misano when the temperature is high because we have a lot of grip which is quite different from other circuits. I’m excited to go now to ride in Aragon, I can’t wait to be fighting in the races again. Testing can be a little bit “boring” compared to the race weekend and I’m looking forward to doing our best in the next one.”
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