Andrea Locatelli is quietly confident he is in contention for his long awaited maiden WorldSBK victory after consolidating his pre-season testing form with a strong turn on day one of action for the 2024 season at Phillip Island.
The Italian enters into his fourth season of WorldSBK with the factory Pata PROMETEON Yamaha looking to make a small but significant step forward towards the front having reeled off a catalogue of podiums without stepping atop one.
With his team undergoing major changes over the winter following the exit of Toprak Razgatlioglu and the arrival of six-time WorldSBK Champion Jonathan Rea, Locatelli has emerged as a low key stand-out during the preparatory stages of the off-season by generally out-pacing his new team-mate.
It all culminated in Locatelli clinching the fastest time in first free practice with a new lap record for a short while, a time that was enough to earn him third at the end of the day. He says it was a lap that came easily to him, adding there was potential to go quicker.
“It was a tricky Friday, for everyone with the forecast, but when we went on the track I felt immediately good on the bike and I made a really good lap time.
“We tried to do a simulation to prepare for the race and the pace was not too bad, so I am so excited and I can’t wait to start Race 1 tomorrow. It’s a positive day.
“In FP2 we finished towards the back but the potential is high so I think we can stay in front. When I push the lap time comes easy, which is good for us.”
While the Italian has notched up 13 podiums since making his WorldSBK debut in 2021, he has generally been regarded as among the ‘second group’ of riders chasing the likes of Alvaro Bautista, Razgatlioglu and Rea, who between them have collected the vast majority of victories.
However, with the raft of changes being introduced for 2024, Locatelli sees this as his opportunity, not least because he was a race winner at Phillip Island in 2020 on his WorldSSP debut in a race that featured a pit-stop.
“It’s a bit of a different track and today was difficult to ride with the wind, so it is difficult to say. We know Toprak and Jonathan changed manufacturers and Bautista probably has more weight on the bike, so for him it’s a bit more tricky, but these are the rules. In this case, I will focus on myself and I will try to win again.”
“It would be nice to win again, why not! We have to do a good qualifying, this is important but then I think we have organised the pit-stop really well, we try many times, we have everything under control. Let’s see, everything is a bit more tricky and exciting but for sure we have a lot of fun.”
