With the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship heading to the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” for the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round, it was the first chance for key figures to discuss the news related to Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK duo Toprak Razgatlioglu and Andrea Locatelli. Speaking during Free Practice 1 at Misano, Yamaha Motor Europe Road Racing Manager Andrea Dosoli praised Locatelli following his renewal with Yamaha and hailed him as a future title contender.

Locatelli has enjoyed a stellar season so far in 2023 after finishing all but one race so far this season in the top five, claiming five podiums in 12 races so far this season. This podium tally means he has surpassed his tally from 2021 (four) and 2022 (two) in the first half of the season and he currently sits third in the Championship standings, directly behind teammate Razgatlioglu with the pair separated by just 34 points.

Explaining his thoughts on Locatelli renewing with Yamaha for another two seasons, up to and including the 2025 campaign, Dosoli said: “We believe the results that we have seen in the last three years, and the way this season is going, I’m convinced that if he makes another small step and we make another small step, he can be, in the future, a title contender.”

These sentiments were shared by Team Principal Paul Denning on Thursday, who said: “One important thing, that I’m not sure was clearly communicated or not because there was no need for it, but it’s important to recognise that Andrea was absolutely our target to renew whether or not Toprak stayed with Yamaha. The improvements he’s made this year are significant. He still has margin to do more to believe in himself more and the next step is for him to win a race and take it to the next level. We’re really happy with everything Andrea is doing. It was always the target to keep him with us. I believe he had a very good offer from a very strong competitor so we’re happy that he trusts in the group, Yamaha and the team and that he’s staying with us.”

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Source: WorldSBK.com