Published October 18, 2025 by Michael Le Pard , Editor‑in‑Chief
Pata Maxus Yamaha and Locatelli Salvage Seventh Place in Challenging Jerez Race 1
The penultimate race day of the 2025 FIM Superbike World Championship was not without its challenges, as Andrea Locatelli and Jonathan Rea contested Race 1 for Pata Maxus Yamaha at Circuito de Jerez in Spain today.
Rea qualified strongly for Race 1 after posting the overall fourth-fastest lap time in Free Practice 3, lining up on the second row of the grid in sixth place. As the lights went out for Race 1, the Northern Irishman was not quite able to get the same spectacular launch off the line that has made him a threat to the top five in the last few rounds – and in the rapid pace set on the opening laps, unfortunately Rea lost the front of his bike into Turn 4 to end his race prematurely. He luckily escaped from the crash uninjured except for some pain and gravel rash on his right arm.
On the opposite side of the pit box, Locatelli was unable to find the same positive step in his race set-up that his teammate had this morning, and “Loka” felt he struggled throughout Saturday. A seventh place in Race 1 was little consolation, but the team’s Italian rider will keep fighting until the end with the hope of finishing third in the championship standings.
The final day of the 2025 WorldSBK season begins with Warm Up at the slightly later time of 9:15 CEST, with two chances left for race honours: Superpole Race at 11:00 and what is set to be an emotional Race 2, the final race of Rea’s full-time WorldSBK career at 14:00.
FULL SUPERPOLE RESULTS
FULL RACE 1 RESULTS
Andrea Locatelli – SP: P9 / Race 1: P7
“This morning we were still a bit in trouble with the set-up, I was not really able to find a good feeling and make a big step – especially in Superpole. We started Race 1 from P10 and I tried to make a good race to recover a couple of positions. With a good start, I believed it could be possible to catch the front riders to try to fight for third in the championship. But in the end, we are still struggling a bit, we know where we are losing something compared to the other riders and we are working on this point already to try to find something extra for tomorrow. We have two more races, it’s the last day of the year and we will keep fighting until the end. The goal will be to try to find a big step for the Superpole Race to fight for a better grid position, and then try again in Race 2 to finish in a good way.”
Jonathan Rea – SP: P6 / Race 1: DNF
“Tough way to end our Saturday after such a positive start this morning! After a difficult day yesterday, the guys worked really hard overnight to give me an R1 that I felt good on this morning, I’ve been competitive in both FP3 and also Superpole – where I was able to put a good lap together to qualify on the second row. I made just an average start in Race 1, and the first laps were quite aggressive, but before I could settle into a rhythm I lost the front really fast at Turn 4 without warning. Frustrated for me and frustrated for the guys, it’s given them a bit of work to rebuild the bike. I have some pain in my right arm, so we will just treat that this evening and try to be in the best condition for tomorrow. Not the best way I wanted to enter the last day of the season, the last day of my career as well, but these are the cards that we’ve been dealt. We’ll put a brave face on it and just do the best that we can!”
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