The 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship’s return to the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari di Imola was a spectacular one, with home riders on good form and a jumbled-up order making for one of the most exciting rounds of 2023. Leading a race for the first time since 2021, taking a home podium for the first time in WorldSBK and holding on to third in the Championship standings, Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) had a phenomenal Prometeon Italian Round.

It would be hard to think that this weekend was ‘Loka’s’ first time on a Superbike at Imola but he took to the circuit like a duck to water. Fast right from the start and edging closer to a first race win, he grabbed the holeshot in Race 1 from P2 on the grid, fending off polesitter teammate Toprak Razgatlioglu and fast-starting Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) from the second row. Leading three of the opening five laps, he was bundled out of the way as Razgatlioglu, Bautista and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) came through, put took a solid fourth on his Imola debut.

In the Tissot Superpole Race, it was once again the 26-year-old who snatched the holeshot into Tamburello and this time, he held on to lead for the opening five laps, beating Razgatlioglu into the braking areas – no mean feat, with that being one of the biggest takeaways from Locatelli’s progress. However, on Lap 6, Bautista used the speed of the Ducati on the front straight to get ahead, whilst Razgatlioglu had to take two attempts to pass his teammate, eventually doing so at the Variante Alta later in the lap. Despite pressure from six-time World Champion Rea behind, Locatelli held on for a first podium in Italy, and returned to the form he had in the first four rounds of 2023. In Race 2, he went on to finish fourth, not having the pace for the podium battle in the extremely hot conditions.

Reviewing his first weekend of racing at Imola in World Superbike, Locatelli said: “We did a very good job this morning in the Superpole Race, the choice with the tyre was perfect. I’m a bit disappointed about Race 1 and Race 2; we change the tyre choice sometimes and yesterday especially, the feeling wasn’t the best one. Race 1 I was fighting front grip and in Race 2, I was fighting rear grip. I think we lost the opportunity in the long races to fight for the podium. It’s been a strong and positive weekend, so need to be happy. It’s also my first time here on a Superbike, so we need to consider everything. I’m proud of myself and the job Yamaha and my staff are doing with me.

“We’ve come back a little bit stronger in the middle of the season, especially at Imola, so for sure, we’ve made another step. We have a little bit more of a feeling with the bike and from Friday, we worked in a good direction. We just need to continue working like this and I think at Most, we can do a really good job. I’m so positive, so happy about the weekend and it helps me to be more motivated at Most, where we’ll try again to get more podiums because I’ll need them!”

In the Championship standings, Locatelli is still third overall, although his early season gap has now been shrunk to just seven over six-time World Champion Rea. Both have reason to push too, not just for the bronze medal in the standings but for personal goals too: Locatelli is yet to win a WorldSBK race in his career, whilst Rea hasn’t won yet in 2023. In fifth place, Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) is hanging on in the battle, just 29 points away from fellow countryman Locatelli.

Speaking about the battle for third in the standings, Locatelli is ready to get stuck in across the five remaining rounds: “Me and Jonny are fighting a lot but I want to try and keep third position in the Championship. It gives me a lot of motivation but it will also be a good result for me. We need to believe, work a lot and we can be competitive and try to stay in front. Maybe we can get a lot of podiums but we will enjoy it like this weekend.”

Catch the round highlights from our return to Imola here, whilst enjoying the 2023 season with the WorldSBK VideoPass!

Source: WorldSBK.com