With the start of the 2020 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season less than a month away, the World Supersport Championship is also readying for action and rookie Andrea Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) is preparing for his first WorldSSP race. The Italian is flying the flag for his country in the class last year, joining the 2019 title clinching BARDAHL Evan Bros. Yamaha squad.

The Moto3™ podium achiever and former top six Moto2™ finisher makes the jump over to the World Supersport paddock, one of several riders making the switch in 2020. Locatelli will be eager to bring Italy a first World Supersport Championship, something that Federico Caricasulo came close to last season.

Speaking after Portimao testing, Locatelli said: "I am happy with the outcome of these tests. Thanks to the good weather we were able to do a lot of laps over the two days: at the beginning we also worked on the fact that it was my first time on this track, but despite that the lap time came quite easily, which is very important.

Locatelli knows seven of the circuits on the WorldSSP calendar from his Moto2™ and Moto3™ World Championship days and is eager to get the season started in 2020: “I am satisfied of the work done together with the team, I feel good and I think we already have the right harmony. Now we just have to wait for the next test and the first race at Phillip Island, where we will have to work immediately in the right way to be ready."

Statistically, Yamaha have won four races at Phillip Island, with two coming in the last two years. Only two Italians have won at Phillip Island with Luca Scassa being the first in 2011, whilst most notably Roberto Rolfo was the last in the dramatic 2017 season opener. Yamaha currently sit on 82 wins in WorldSSP, whilst Italian riders have notched up 23 for their country.

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