Superbike, Locatelli penalized: "Better not to comment." Lowes and Lecuona defend him

The Yamaha rider was found responsible for the incident with Oliveira in the Superbike SPR and received a penalty, which was also contested by S. Lowes and Lecuona.

Superbike Sunday at the Balaton Park Circuit was marked by a moment of genuine concern. When, on the first lap of the Superpole Race, there was contact between Miguel Oliveira and Andrea Locatelli, resulting in both crashing and the Portuguese rider appearing to have suffered serious consequences, there was some fear. Fortunately, it was soon reported that the BMW rider was conscious and had been taken to the circuit’s Medical Center, where he was diagnosed with a concussion and a left shoulder injury. He was later transported to the hospital for further checks.

Things went decidedly better for Loka, as he was able to get back on his Yamaha R1 and return to the garage. Since the red flag was shown following the incident, the SPR was stopped and then restarted. The Lombard rider was able to take part regularly, although during the race it was announced that he would have to serve two long-lap penalties for “irresponsible riding” in relation to the incident with Oliveira.

The FIM Stewards Panel deemed Locatelli responsible for the episode that occurred at Turn 6, where before hitting the BMW rider he had made contact with Sam Lowes. A rather unlucky situation, but the stewards decided that the responsibility lay with the 2020 Supersport World Champion, who commented on the matter as follows: “I would never want another rider involved in a crash to get injured, and I am very sorry for Miguel. I don’t want to talk about Race Direction’s decision to penalize me, it’s better to say nothing.”

Even though he didn’t want to attack, it’s clear that Loka does not agree with the penalty imposed on him. Sam Lowes, who was also involved in the incident, doesn’t seem to agree either: “He received the penalty because he rejoined the racing line too aggressively — reports Speedweek. If you go off the ideal line and want to come back, where are the other riders supposed to go? Obviously, you want to get back on the ideal line to defend your position. For me, it was a racing incident and the penalty surprised me. I braked early and took a tight line. Then he ran wide and suddenly three riders were fighting for the same piece of track. No one did anything stupid.”

Iker Lecuona also disagrees with the decision taken against Locatelli: “It was the first lap, two riders went off the ideal line and then there were three side by side. A penalty makes no sense. Sam was riding on his line, and Loka rejoined; it’s not like he went completely off track. For me it wasn’t penalty-worthy.”

Loris Baz, a former Superbike World Championship rider, also expressed his opposition by posting on his X profile: “Seriously???? Did Race Direction see the same incident I did?” The debates are open.