Two solid points-scoring finishes for Andrea Locatelli fell short of the podium regular’s high expectations at home on Sunday at Round 4 of the FIM Superbike World Championship in Italy.
Initially hampered by his third-row grid position, the rider from Bergamo did everything possible to reverse his fortunes on the last day of competition. Unfortunately, Locatelli suffered from an unexpected vibration that the team worked hard to remedy following the 10-lap Superpole Race, but the problem persisted during Race 2. Despite an excellent start in the opening laps of the final feature, “Loka” could not stay with the front runners and was P8 at the chequered flag – close to the top five but unable to challenge.
His overall fine form in 2025 keeps him in touch with the top three in the championship standings however, and Locatelli lies fourth just seven points behind Alvaro Bautista on the way to Most in 10 days’ time – a circuit where the Italian Pata Maxus Yamaha rider has previously achieved two podiums.
Completing his first full WorldSBK race weekend of 2025 after return from injury, Jonathan Rea was able to show a taste of what fans have come to expect from the six-time World Champion while battling with his own physical limitations, having been away from his R1 for almost three months.
“JR” was aggressive and spectacular in the first part of Race 2, working his way towards the top ten in the opening laps, but was unable to maintain his position in the latter stages of the final race of the weekend. The team are working closely with the #65 rider to support him as he rebuilds his fitness and looks for the impressive speed that he demonstrated during pre-season testing.
FULL SUPERPOLE RACE RESULTS
FULL RACE 2 RESULTS
Andrea Locatelli – SPRC: P7 / Race 2: P8
“It was a really difficult weekend for us, unfortunately we did not take any good results here in Cremona. We were fighting to start from further back on the grid – but it does not matter about this because also when I made a great start in Race 2 it was difficult to stay there. We need to look at what happened and how to improve because I was fighting a lot with a big, big vibration this morning and all Sunday. Now, I am looking forward and don’t think too much about the missed opportunity – it was a big shame to not be faster, after the good events like Portimao and Assen, I was expecting that also here we could be fast. Sometimes in the racing life this happens! Keep pushing and we try to arrive in Most ready to fight again to go on the podium, this is the target.”
Jonathan Rea – SPRC: P16 / Race 2: P18
“It’s been a tougher weekend than I expected, but I knew we had to start somewhere. The target of the weekend in my own mind was just to try and commit to racing, get passed fit and do my best to complete all three races with no mistakes. We completed that target, of course I wasn’t as competitive as I wanted to be, but considering I was only fully weight-bearing and walking without my air boot three weeks ago I can accept that. Coming back at Cremona, a track I didn’t race at last year and also super physical, I suffered more in my upper body than I did in my foot to be honest, because I was compensating quite a lot riding with my arms instead of my legs. Even though the bike didn’t feel perfect, the team have done everything to try to make me more comfortable and encourage me through this difficult weekend. I have no doubt better days are coming! It was always going to be a process whether I came back here or came back in Most, so today’s “weekend one” and hopefully we can get on a roll forward from this point.”
Paul Denning – Team Principal, Pata Maxus Yamaha:
“The level of WorldSBK is so high that you can’t afford any compromises in order to be competitive – and this weekend, unfortunately we didn’t find a sweet spot to be able to run in front as we did in Assen. The difficulties more or less started in qualifying, when Andrea missed the opportunity to put the bike on the first two rows, and on top of that we faced some unexpected problems during the races that restricted his performance and meant he couldn’t ride in his usual aggressive way to exploit the full potential of the R1. Two reasonable points finishes on Sunday see him still close to third position in the championship and Most was a podium-scoring circuit for us last year, so we’ll work hard to diagnose the problems and look forward to racing in the Czech Republic. For JR, this come-back weekend was definitely a lot tougher than he expected. It’s physically the hardest track on the calendar and, if truth be told, he wasn’t quite ready – especially with no test in advance to get back to full racing speed and distance. The fact that he dug in, finished all three races and showed his aggression and ability to pass other riders early in the races, means that we are excited to see what he can achieve when he’s back to normal peak fitness.”
