With testing for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship now in the books and all eyes on the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit starting the season in style on Friday, two riders who have shown strong pace during the Official Test will be looking to make sure that translates into strong results.  Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) were consistently challenging for the top three positions during the two-day test and the Italian duo will be aiming to ruffle some feathers throughout both the Australian Round and the 2023 season as a whole.

Rinaldi, entering his third season with the factory Ducati team, took second in the combined classification on Day 2 after posting a 1’30.501s set in Tuesday’s Free Practice 1 session. Rinaldi completed 113 laps during the second day of action to add to his 71 from Day 1. On the first day, Rinaldi was second in the combined classification and ahead of teammate Alvaro Bautista after he set a 1’30.773s. Rinaldi has also shown strong pace at other tests throughout the winter at Jerez and Portimao as he looks to start 2023 in the best possible way.

Rinaldi, who his teammate picked out as someone who could challenge for podiums and wins during the recent Jerez test, said: “Today was a good day for us. We tried a race simulation and it went pretty well. We have data to look at for the race weekend. I still have some room for improvements. I’m quite happy. Alvaro is very fast here and if I look at him, we still have some gap that we must close but if we look at the whole grid, we are not bad. The job today was to try to work for the race weekend and it went pretty well. We need to work for the races and try to stay with Alvaro.

“I checked the lap times and there are many fast riders. Race pace is not like this because I think there are many riders that are able to do full race distances with strong pace. Jonny, Toprak and Locatelli have great pace. Everybody is behind Alvaro. For the moment, I think Alvaro is untouchable. If, during the weekend, we don’t take a step forward, he will go. We must do something. It’s just a test and I don’t think Toprak tenth is the truth. He in the races, he will be there for sure. I will try my best for a podium! If we look at the race pace from today, it’s possible because after Alvaro there is me. Locatelli is there. Jonny unfortunately had a crash during the race simulation so we don’t understand his real potential and Toprak will be there. I think it’s possible and I will fight for it.”

Locatelli took second in the combined classification and was less than a tenth away from Bautista who topped Tuesday’s running. The Italian’s best time was a 1’30.344s and he completed 113 laps on Tuesday. Locatelli was the fastest Yamaha rider on Day 2 of the Official Test and he also topped Monday’s Free Practice 1 session to show his potential from the start of the test. Like Rinaldi, there have been glimpses of his potential throughout testing during the winter and Locatelli ended the 2022 season at Phillip Island strongly. Could he be in the mix for his first WorldSBK win during the Australian Round?

Discussing the test and looking ahead of the season, Locatelli said: “I’m really happy about these two days of testing because we were fast from Day 1 and also, I think, we were fast every session. This is a really good point. The feeling with the bike was amazing in all the sessions. This is good. We need to look forward to the race week but, to be honest, we are close to being ready. We have a really good package, so we need to trust it and believe. We worked very well during the winter tests and also here at Phillip Island, so I think we are ready to fight.

“I think, in general, I have more confidence with the bike. I think we worked very well during the winter tests, so we have a really good package. This is the best way to start the season. We don’t have a lot of confusion in my mind. We have confidence to be fast not only this weekend but also during this part of the season. We will try to be fast in every round.”

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