Promising First Look at Balaton Park for Pata Maxus Yamaha in Friday Free Practice

Promising First Look at Balaton Park for Pata Maxus Yamaha in Friday Free Practice

Andrea Locatelli and Jonathan Rea had their first look at Balaton Park Circuit today in Friday Free Practice as they prepare for Round 8 of the 2025 FIM Superbike World Championship in Hungary.

The Pata Maxus Yamaha pair tackled two trouble-free 45-minute sessions, learning the details of the short and technical 4.075km track at full WorldSBK speed in preparation for the main points-paying races. Even if the results sheet did not demonstrate it, for Rea it was a positive ‘Day 1’, as he was was able to take an important step in his feeling aboard the Yamaha R1 WorldSBK, while teammate Locatelli continued to build on his strong form from the previous round in Donington Park.

In the FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship, Ampito Crescent Yamaha’s Beatriz Neila took her second pole position on the bounce, in commanding fashion at the new circuit with a scorching lap time 0.34s faster than her main championship rival.

Race day beckons tomorrow, but not before the all-important WorldSBK Superpole session (11:00 CEST – local time) where Locatelli and Rea will also aim to start from near the front of the grid to gain the best track position at the start of Race 1 (14:00).

FULL FREE PRACTICE RESULTS

Andrea Locatelli: P11 – 1’40.667

“First day, first time here in Balaton – so we were learning the track especially in FP1, then doing good work for the weekend in FP2. The lap time and position at the end of the day is not the ‘best’ but we know the work that we did and I’m happy with the feeling on my R1 at the moment. We’re looking forward to trying to improve a bit more tomorrow and then I think we can fight for sure like always the top five – this is at least the position where we can be. Keep positive, work a bit tonight to make another step for tomorrow, but the feeling is quite good so we can continue in this way and enjoy the first race here.”

Jonathan Rea: P16 – 1’40.908

“Busy first day! Having never been here, it’s important to do a lot of laps, try to make no mistakes and maximise time on track – and we did that. Whilst it’s not the most difficult circuit to learn, it’s very technical. There’s a lot of first-gear chicanes, so you have to really take your lap time on the brakes – and an area where I’ve struggled in the last few races is the trail-braking feeling to the apex. We focused on that for FP2 as well as a change on the electronic setting, and I made a huge step in my understanding of the R1 – I was able to really feel what was going on, make less mistakes to the apex and have a more consistent feeling. The guys have a lot of data now to put it all together and I think we can really make a step tomorrow. The good thing is that I didn’t feel so far away, we didn’t fully maximise the outright lap time on the second rear tyre due to a yellow flag and then I also cut the chicane on a fast lap which obviously impacted our fastest lap pace. But, I feel good, will sleep on it tonight after ‘Day 1’ and come back in the morning to confirm things and get ready for Superpole.”