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The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is touching down at the Circuito Estoril for the third round of the 2022 season and, ahead of the Estoril Round, Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) sat down to discuss several topics. He talked about having the reigning Champion as his teammate, the pair working together, where he and his machine have improved and also where he would like to see some improvements on the Yamaha YZF-R1 machine as he goes in search of more podiums and his maiden WorldSBK victory.

CHAMPION AS TEAMMATE: how he and Razgatlioglu help each other

Locatelli is in a unique position that only one rider every year gets to be in: sharing the box with the reigning Champion. Locatelli moved into WorldSBK for the 2021 after dominating in WorldSSP in 2020 and immediately earned himself a factory seat alongside Toprak Razgatlioglu, who would go on to win the title last season after an incredible season-long battle with Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK). Ahead of the Estoril Round, Locatelli discussed what it was like to be alongside the reigning Champion.

Locatelli said: “For me, it’s motivation. It’s not easy because, especially last year when I arrived in the box, the feeling was that the attention was just for Toprak because he won a lot of races, he got a lot of podiums and, especially in the first part of the season, it was really difficult for me because I finished sixth position, fifth, fourth and then he's winning, so it’s not easy. Then my goal is just to focus on working and to try to close the gap and to improve because it was just my first year. Now I have a lot more experience, I feel like the gap with Toprak is closer. We need to continue to work on this.

“Immediately with Toprak, I don't know why, but it was strange because normally in the box you have like a wall. But with Toprak, it’s impossible to have this and so we work together. Last year, and also this year, he has helped me, and I have helped him to improve the bike, especially in Superpole. We work a lot to improve the bike to get a good result. He's a very fast rider but I want to try to stay with him and I want to try to fight with him. I want to learn, and I want to try to fight with him because it is important for me.”

SECOND SEASON IMPROVEMENTS: the gains made through WorldSBK experience

Now in his second WorldSBK campaign, Locatelli has a year of experience on the Yamaha YZF-R1 machine to understand both where he has improved as a WorldSBK rider as well as having the benefit of not needing to learn tracks on a different bike, as he did in 2021 after stepping up from WorldSSP. Locatelli explained where he believes he has improved the most as a rider after a full season of WorldSBK under his belt.

He said: “Especially in the last year, we improved a lot. With my body, but also on the bike and the feeling with the bike. Especially this year, compared to last year, I improved a lot with braking, and I am more confident with braking. With time, when I go on the bike now the feeling is much better for me. We are not so far away, and we don't need to start every weekend from zero because, for example, last year when we arrived at a new race, I started on Friday and the feeling with the bike was crazy. But now when I start Friday, the feeling is more similar like the last weekend that we used the bike, so this is a good point to start in a good way to improve it during the weekend and to get very good results.”

YAMAHA STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES: positives but gains to be made

Locatelli’s experience on the Yamaha R1 machine means he is able to detail the strengths and weaknesses of the bike. From corner entry and exit, straight line speed, acceleration changes of direction and more, every package has strengths and weaknesses compared to its rivals. Discussing the strengths of the 2022-spec R1, Locatelli said: “About the 2022 bike, I'm really happy because the feeling was immediately so good and, on the electronics, we started with a good base setup. It's a good opportunity to improve the bike and I confirmed to use the new electronics because the feeling was immediately so good. We can improve a lot so it's a good point to try to improve the bike and, for me, it's our objective now to prepare the bike and to prepare the electronics, to improve a lot. We have a possibility to do this with the electronics, so I want to continue on this way and to try to improve every race because it's a good point for us.”

25-year-old Locatelli also discussed where he would like to see improvements on the bike. He added: “For me, in 2022, we improved a little bit more the bike compared to 2021, but the level of the bikes and the riders improves a lot so it's too difficult to compare everything. I'm really happy about the new bike and, to be honest, just a little problem that we have is the top speed. Maybe we need a little bit more power to try to catch up, especially on the straight. Now we are working on this and every race we try to improve the bike on this point. The exit of the corner is important, but we are very fast on the exit of the corner but then we lose a little bit with the power, with the top speed so we need to work a little bit on this path. Maybe on the fairing, maybe on the power of the engine but in the future,  we can improve in this part.”

LONG TERM GOALS: aiming high with Yamaha

After joining the WorldSBK grid as the 2020 WorldSSP Champion, Locatelli scored four podiums in his rookie season as well as 12 fourth-place finishes and three fifth-place finishes. At the recent Assen Round, he took his first podium of the 2022 season, bringing his WorldSBK tally to fifth, with his best career result of second place. Discussing his short- and long-term goals, Locatelli said: “In my mind, when I arrive at a new weekend, it’s just to work on the bike and with my guys. Now, it’s my second year with Yamaha but, for me, every race is like a new race. For me, it's not important which race we’re at, but it’s important to work and to prepare every weekend in the best way as possible. So, in my mind, I don't have anything, I want just to learn and to prepare every weekend to get good results. And, for the future, it’s important to do a good result but in my mind is continuing to work with Yamaha because we have a contract for 2023. It's important to not forget this and to work and to try to win with Yamaha because it's my objective. My objective this year is to sometimes finish on the podium because it’s important and also one goal is try to win a race but we are working towards this.”

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