The 2026 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season is off and running as Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) and the rest of your favourite riders pack up after the Australian Round.  The Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit is one of the #55’s strongest circuits; however, he wasn’t quite able to hit the high mark of his past seasons. Despite struggles in the first two races of the weekend, Locatelli rolled up his sleeves in a wet and wild Race 2 to finish Round 1 on a high note.

A RUSTY START TO 2026: Locatelli wasn’t quite on his blistering Phillip Island pace in the first races of the weekend

Locatelli started the weekend with a tough break right out of the gate, finishing P15 in the Tissot Superpole session, making Race 1 an uphill climb, which he finished in P13, benefiting from crashes ahead of him by his teammate Xavi Vierge and Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team). Sunday started out with a stumble in the Tissot Superpole Race; he went backwards early in the race to sit P17 by Lap 4. He got back on the horse, however, and overtook replacement rider Ryan Vickers (Honda HRC) on Lap 6, then Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) in the last lap before a Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) tech issue sent him up to P14. The pair of race results came as his two worst results at the circuit apart from a Race 2 DNF back in 2024, a shame of a result as he was fighting for the win before that crash.

NOT HIS WEEKEND: “It wasn’t an easy weekend for us; the positions we landed weren’t enough. We know we can do more”

In Sunday’s final race, with heavy rain having left the track saturated with water, ‘Loka’ lived up to his name and rode with a knife between his teeth early on to sit in P6 by the start of Lap 2. Tarran Mackenzie (MGM Optical Express Racing) and Bautista had sent him back down to P8 by Lap 6, but he stayed focused and took advantage of DNF’s by Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team), Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team), and Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) ahead of him sent him up to P5.It may not have been the stunning start to the season in Oz that the #55 has enjoyed in past seasons, but his ability to put his struggles in the weekend’s first two races behind him is a strong sign of Locatelli’s resilience.

On his Race 2, Locatelli said: “It wasn’t an easy weekend for us, the positions we landed weren’t enough, we know we can do more. We came here with the idea that we could be faster but sometimes you can’t do that. We need to work hard to understand why the challenge was different, but I want to be positive in that I was doing my best. Fortunately, in Race 2, I was able to be faster in the wet, and I took P5. It was not easy; many people crashed, but I tried to push hard every lap and do my best. This was what we were able to get from the weekend. We lost many points this weekend, but it’s only the first round. We have Portimao coming up, where we got a podium, and then Assen after that, where I got my first win. I think we need to be positive, look ahead and push hard.”

WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH…: “We should put the results behind us and focus on working hard”

2026 got off to a peculiar start compared to other seasons, on top of the silly season moves which brought ‘Loka’ a new crew chief in the form of Guilio Nava, who used to work with Bautista during his title-winning campaigns; the #55 and his team had a full to-do list of things to work on in preseason testing. The poor weather quite literally formed clouds over those hopes, such as working on their Yamaha R1’s chassis package at Portimao, hoping to implement upgrades that would improve turning and grip. While they finally had a pair of dry days during the Official Test in Australia, the track's unique layout limited the progress they could bring to bear at the circuit. Locatelli is committed, however, to staying positive and, with the help of his team, ride into the next two rounds where he has succeeded in the past with a capable setup and eyes on the podium.

On his issues in Oz and his outlook moving forward, Locatelli said: “Every weekend is quite different, every time we arrive at a track, a big challenge is coming to understand the tyre compound. It’s difficult to explain, and we always work hard to understand it, but it’s always a challenge. At this point, I can’t say much more, but we are working hard to understand it. It’s important to start well, but it’s only Round 1. I did my best, and that’s the most important thing. We need to be positive in the garage even if we don’t get the results we want. We should put the results behind us and focus on working hard. We didn’t ride much this winter and didn’t get much of a feeling with the bike. We had some time at Phillip Island, but we had a lot to do. I think the upcoming test will allow us to work on the bike and work hard with my crew chief. I’m crossing my fingers for better results. I’ll be working hard, and the test will be key.  We will be looking forward, pushing hard and trying to maximise our results.”

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