Published October 21, 2025 by Michael Le Pard , Editor‑in‑Chief
Straight after the final round of the 2025 FIM Superbike World Championship season finale, Pata Maxus Yamaha’s 2026 line-up of Andrea Locatelli and new signing Xavi Vierge took to the track to complete the first winter test in preparation for the new season.
Vierge enjoyed his first day aboard the Yamaha R1 WorldSBK, adapting quickly following four years with his previous team to finish second-fastest overall with a lap time of 1:39.137 (61 Laps).
Teammate Locatelli continued with the base from his strong race on Sunday, then focused on new parts and a range of developments from Yamaha. The test resulted in some positive steps forward in certain areas, and now both riders and the crew are looking forward to the next test over 26-27 November at the same venue.
JEREZ TEST – TIMES
Andrea Locatelli – 1:39.479 (42 Laps):
“Day one of already 2026 here in Jerez after the race weekend! We were trying a couple of new options to find a step forward on the bike – the condition of the track was quite different from the race but we tried to make an improvement in the areas that we struggled with during the weekend. Looks like we found some quite positive things from this test and now we have one month to relax a little bit and prepare again. Then, we will see what we can do and try to make another step! Overall, it was a good season in 2025, so we will keep pushing hard for the next one. I am happy to try some new stuff on the bike, to make an improvement. It will be important in November to understand more, find good solutions with the R1 and improve the base set up, then prepare for next season in the best way.”
Paul Denning, Team Principal – Pata Maxus Yamaha:
“First 2026 test for Pata Maxus Yamaha, and first day ever on the Yamaha R1 WorldSBK for Xavi Vierge. Lovely guy, clearly very professional, very serious about his work and he’s done a great job for us today. We’re impressed how quickly he’s adapted and to end the day second overall on the timesheets is never a bad start! He’s got a big smile on his face – we’re very happy to have Xavi in the team and we’re looking forward to continuing our work in November. On Loka’s side, he has tested some new parts and picked up where we left off during the race weekend here in Jerez. We didn’t target a fast lap time, we needed to focus on getting through the test programme with Andrea and some rain and drizzle this morning limited the running at the start of the day. This is just the start of 2026, the first touch on the R1 for Xavi and Loka’s first evaluation of some new developments, so we will keep working on hard and do our best to take another step we return to Jerez at the end of November.”
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