Yamaha crisis at Phillip Island, Andrea Locatelli admits: "We're struggling"

Only one R1 in the top 10 at the end of the Superbike test at Phillip Island, and it’s Vierge’s: Locatelli analyzes the situation.

Ducati excellent, Bimota good, but the other manufacturers seemed to struggle over the two days of work in Australia. A negative surprise is Andrea Locatelli, only sixteenth on the timesheets, more than 1.5 seconds off leader Nicolò Bulega. The only R1 in the top ten belongs to his teammate Xavi Vierge (ninth), the new signing for the Pata Maxus Yamaha WorldSBK team. Phillip Island has often been a track that suits Loka (8 top 5 finishes, including 3 podiums, in 12 SBK races there), so it’s strange to see him so far back.

The 2020 Supersport World Champion is obviously disappointed with how the Superbike test in Australia went, but he doesn’t want to get too down: "We’ve been struggling a bit over these two days. Unfortunately, we didn’t get much track time this winter. Putting everything together is never simple. We tried to find some feeling and a base setup here, but unfortunately the feeling isn’t great. We’re struggling a bit. Right now I really feel the bumps on this track, that seems to be my main issue. I can’t wait to have a solution, because it’s important. We’ll see what we can do over the race weekend, I want to stay confident."

In the past Phillip Island seemed a fairly good track for him and Yamaha, although something already started to change in 2025. Locatelli can’t quite explain the dip: "Hard to say, even last year it wasn’t easy for us. During the race weekend we’ll have different tires, so that could be another option to consider. At the moment, there are many things we don’t have under control, so we’re keeping motivation high to be faster over the weekend. We’ll try to do our best. I know in the first round it’s important to start the right way, but unfortunately we’re struggling a bit. We’re trying to look ahead and stay positive."

Improving on the test shouldn’t be too complicated, also considering the high level of expertise in the Pata Maxus Yamaha WorldSBK garage. Loka himself will try to do something different to put himself in a more competitive position: "We have time to see and understand what we can try on Friday. I’ll try to have a slightly different approach, to push a bit more, since in testing you try not to take too many risks. We’ll see if we can do better, I hope so. I don’t feel pressure, I’ll try to give my best on track."

It should be remembered that the Lombard rider is working with a new crew chief, Giulio Nava, who in recent years worked with Alvaro Bautista in the Aruba Ducati garage. The Italian engineer is trying to get to know the Yamaha R1 as well as possible and meet Locatelli’s requests, with whom he still needs to build perfect understanding. Having had tests ruined by bad weather at Jerez and Portimao didn’t help.