Andrea Locatelli’s Jerez WorldSBK test cut short after “big” turn seven crash
“It was a shame to have such a big crash this morning on the second day…”
A crash for Andrea Locatelli on the second day of this week’s two-day WorldSBK test in Jerez saw the Italian’s year ended early.
Locatelli crashed at turn seven, the first of the two fast left-handers in the third sector of the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto. The Pata Yamaha rider was okay, but was forced to miss some of his test programme.
“The rhythm with the race tyre was good,” Locatelli said in review of his second day in Jerez.
“It was a shame to have such a big crash this morning on the second day and miss some of the test programme. But, now we are looking forward and waiting for January so I can ride on my R1 again.
“We have time to analyse the data from both days and make another upgrade to prepare the bike for four more days of testing in January — which will be important to finalise everything ready for the season.
“We did 72 laps yesterday and in general for the first day I was happy, immediately with a good pace even though we were not in search of a fast lap time. It is important after a long time I have been with Yamaha that we push to the maximum, no matter what the condition.
“If we can be fast immediately it can be a big advantage for us both in testing and during the race weekends, in this area I have improved a lot.
“It is a step-by-step process overall in testing, we stay positive and I always believe that we can make a difference in all the areas where we work.”
Alex joined the Crash.net team in August of 2024 having covered consumer and racing motorcycle news at Visordown for two years.
