Superbike disappointment, redemption in Endurance: Locatelli's big chance at Suzuka

2026 has been rather unsatisfactory for the Lombard rider, who expected very different results in SBK: going to race in Japan will be a real motivational boost.

After fighting for third place in the 2025 world standings, Andrea Locatelli hoped to confirm himself in 2026 as well, perhaps also taking advantage of Toprak Razgatlioglu’s departure to establish himself even more firmly in the battle for the podium and to win new races. But things are not going as hoped. Not only does his Race 2 win at Assen in 2025 remain his only Superbike victory, but he has yet to step onto the podium in 2026. His best result this year is fifth place in Race 2 (in the wet) at Phillip Island. His only top 5 so far.

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Loka, like the other Yamaha riders, is dealing with an R1 that isn’t on par with the new Ducati Panigale V4 R and that sometimes even struggles when compared to the Bimota KB998 Rimini and the BMW M 1000 RR. The Iwata manufacturer is fourth in the constructors’ standings, with only Kawasaki (with a single rider, Gerloff) and Honda behind. The work done for the 2026 SBK season hasn’t been enough to reach podium-level performance; so far none of the Yamaha riders has made it there.

In the overall standings, Locatelli is actually the best-placed Yamaha rider, but he’s only tenth with 53 points: a year ago after four rounds he was fourth with 118 points. His tally has more than halved, then. Meanwhile, the Japanese manufacturer has gone from 128 points in 2025 to the current 73. There’s a lot to do to try to close the gap to those occupying the top positions today.

The R1 is a fairly dated project, a new bike is needed, as even Paul Denning has admitted, team principal of the factory Pata Maxus Yamaha WorldSBK squad. Everyone hopes a new supersport machine will be produced with significantly higher potential than the current model. Updates are needed in terms of engine, chassis, electronics, and aerodynamics to see the three-tuning-forks brand winning again. It’s fair to apply “pressure” to seek regulations better able to balance performance, but technical help from Iwata is also necessary.

While in the Superbike World Championship he has to grit his teeth, trying to get the most out of the package at his disposal, Locatelli can certainly have more hope of claiming a prestigious result at the Suzuka 8 Hours. In recent days it was officially confirmed that he will be part of the Yamaha Factory Racing Team alongside Jack Miller and Katsuyuki Nakasuga. It’s the same lineup that took second place in 2025, beaten only by the Honda HRC team.

In 2026 the goal is to be back on the podium, ideally on the top step this time. Honda has won the last four editions of the famous Endurance World Championship round, and breaking the dominance of their historic rivals would be a great satisfaction for Yamaha, which hasn’t triumphed at Suzuka since 2018, when Nakasuga, Alex Lowes, and Michael van der Mark clinched their own fourth straight win in the event.

The Suzuka 8 Hours, scheduled from July 3 to 5, will be a great opportunity for Locatelli to set aside what isn’t working in Superbike and get back to fighting for something important. The Lombard rider was clear: "This year our goal is to seize the victory that slipped away from us last year." Before flying to Japan for the third round of the 2026 EWC calendar, he will face three WorldSBK rounds: Most, Aragon, and Misano. We’ll see if some satisfaction arrives in the meantime.