Locatelli’s Lightning Start Sets Up Stellar Race 1 Podium in Jerez
Pata Prometeon Yamaha and Andrea Locatelli celebrated a superb third-place podium in Race 1 at the final round of the 2024 FIM Superbike World Championship at Circuito de Jerez in Spain, today.
An exceptionally-strong race start converted Locatelli’s sixth-place grid position immediately to third position at the first corner on the opening lap. From there, “Loka” was challenged strongly by Iker Lecuona and then chased down by Alex Lowes, but neither competitor got close to a pass as the #55 Yamaha R1 WorldSBK rider expertly controlled his position and consistent race pace throughout to enjoy a place on the rostrum in the first feature race of the weekend.
Unfortunately, teammate Jonathan Rea started today on the back foot, after a small tip off in Superpole meant he was unable to complete his second and fastest timed lap to qualify in the best position possible. It was always going to be a tall order to come through the field from the sixth row of the grid, but the #65 rider tried to make every lap count with his signature determination and grit, recovering five positions and finally crossing the line in 11th position at the end of 20 Laps.
Tomorrow the last race day of the season will provide two more chances to finish the year strongly before final chequered flag of 2024. A short Warm Up session of 10 minutes starts the day at 9:15 CEST, then the lights will go out for the Superpole Race at 11:00 and Race 2 at 14:00.
SUPERPOLE RESULTS
RACE 1 RESULTS
Andrea Locatelli – SP: P6 / Race 1 P3
“I can be really, really happy with this performance! I think also for me and for Yamaha, we deserve this podium because we never stop believing and we never stop pushing hard for it. In the end, today is a good result for us. We need to keep working in this direction because, if we use our full potential every corner and every lap, we can be on the podium and I believe we can do it again. We were unlucky in Estoril because we were also close there, but it looks like now at the end of the season we have come back and we can show our potential. It is important to complete the season in the best way, to be more relaxed to work on the winter test programme and prepare well for next year. We have two more races tomorrow, so I am looking forward to fighting again for the podium before we finish.”
Jonathan Rea – SP: P16 / Race 1: P11
“I got an “ok” start and found myself in a better track position than P16 in Turn 1, but from there it was honestly really tough. The temperature went up quite a bit from what we have had the rest of the weekend and everything felt a bit out of balance, both in the front and rear and I couldn’t find traction. A lot of things to work on and while I felt like I was miles away, overall it doesn’t take too much of an improvement just to put us back in the big group fighting for fifth. We will get our heads down overnight and try to understand my feeling to work on where we can improve.”
