Yamaha hint that Locatelli’s mystery crew chief will come from MotoGP paddock
Locatelli’s current crew chief, Andrew Pitt, is being moved to the other side of the same garage to work with new recruit Jonathan Rea in the WorldSBK 2024 season.
Denning explained that trying to keep Phil Marron, Toprak Razgatlıoglu ‘s crew chief who will follow the rider to BMW, or bringing in Rea’s crew chief from Kawasaki, Pere Riba, were options.
Instead, the decision was made to allow Pitt to work alongside Rea (they were Hanspree Ten Kate Honda teammates in 2008 in WorldSSP).
“That was a decision we made a few weeks ago,” Denning explained.
“Andrew and Jonathan have a long-term relationship, starting from when they were teammates in WorldSSP and finished first 1-2 there!
“They became close friends, they know each other personally and professionally and we felt that with the support that he thrives on in the family atmosphere of a team – what Pere and the guys created successfully at Kawasaki.
“We wanted to create something similar and Andrew also has the most experience with the bike after six years with us, so it’s a natural fit.
“‘Loka’ is completely supportive of that and he’s very happy to take a new approach with a new crew chief next year.
“The first step was that we wanted to keep Phil but he took a different decision which we completely respect.
“He came with Toprak to us and I think Phil would have liked to stay, there was no doubt that he was a fundamental part of the team, however, the partnership with a rider – a special rider at that – is a difficult bond to break.
“The next step was to consider Pere, because it was the obvious next step but that didn’t happen for a couple of reasons and within that, with things not working out as first targeted, you actually find a better solution.
“We’ll be able to let everybody know who Locatelli’s crew chief will be towards the end of November.
“We’ve managed to bring someone across to the team that I’ve worked with before and I’m super excited to work with again.”
Asked if the mystery crew chief will come from the MotoGP paddock, Denning replied: “It might be yes, so we’ll see about that.”
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
