It’s Andrea Locatelli’s turn to enjoy a home race weekend as Pata Maxus Yamaha and the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship travel to Misano World Circuit this weekend, from 12-14 July.
A podium in the short 10-Lap Superpole Race last year was a highlight for the team’s Italian rider, at a venue where many of his fans from Bergamo make the journey to support “Loka” and the team.
Sharing the pit box this year is teammate Xavi Vierge, and following a two-day performance test last month, the #97 returns to Misano with a solid base on his Yamaha R1 WorldSBK from which to start the weekend. Following a challenging Aragon race weekend, Vierge and Locatelli are looking forward to enjoying the atmosphere at the seaside venue and fighting to deliver the maximum.
Misano also means a return to the site of the very first FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship race venue – this time for Round 4 of the 2026 season and with the team’s two-rider line up of Beatriz Neila (Ampito Crescent Yamaha) and Chloe Jones (Monster Energy Crescent Yamaha). Neila is currently on a historic streak of 20 consecutive podiums dating back to that first season in 2024 and both riders are motivated for a strong run of results after a one-month break.
Friday begins with WorldWCR Free Practice at 9:00 CEST and Superpole at 13:30, while WorldSBK starts with Free Practice 1 and 2 at 10:20 and 15:00 as normal.
Andrea Locatelli
“Let’s see what will happen in Misano! We had two days of testing there last month, we were a bit unlucky in Aragon but the feeling on my R1 was coming back and the plan is to keep motivation high to be faster in Misano. The approach will be push hard, try to get the maximum from the package and see where we can fix our target. As always, I will give 100% – I have strong motivation for my home race and this helps to give a bit “extra”! Happy to be in Italy, we are expecting a lot of fans and I hope it will be a great weekend ahead.”
Xavi Vierge
“I can’t wait to jump on my R1 again – we were testing in Misano a couple of weeks ago and the feeling has been great. We have a good base to start the weekend in a good way and it’s a circuit that I really like and enjoy riding. I hope we can be fighting and show our speed – we saw progress in the Superpole Race in Aragon to be in the fight, and I’m looking forward to trying to do the same in Misano this weekend.”
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