A 2025 rookie spent his tricky first WSBK test in the wet

2025 WorldSBK rookie Yari Montella was confronted with mixed conditions at his maiden test in the premier class of the production derivative series, but those presented an opportunity for the young Italian.

The test in Jerez was Montella’s first on a WorldSBK-spec machine, and he ended the second day – a day on which only 11 riders set lap times due to wet conditions – third-fastest.

“I’m happy for that because I’m in the top three so it’s nice,” he told WorldSBK.com.

“But, in the end, we were just [a few] riders in a strange condition, on wet.

“But we decided to ride because I need to ride in every condition, because I need to keep the feeling with the bike, I need to understand the bike in every condition.

“So, I’m quite happy for the test because it was complete, with some dry, some wet, so happy for that and we just need to stay focused and continue to work.”

Montella now has four remaining test days – two at Portimao and a further two at Phillip Island – and the Italian is anticipating a different approach compared to his first test.

“For sure it will be a different approach from here, because now more or less I know what I expect from the bike,” he said.

“So, for sure, we will try to push a bit, and start to try something on the bike because in these days [in Jerez] we made nothing more or less, just some adjustments for my riding style, but nothing special.

“So, I think for sure we will make a complete job on the bike, on myself, and we will try to push a little bit more to understand our position on the grid.”

He added: “But I know that I need for sure also some races to understand the category, to understand the Superpole Race, to understand the Superpole – well, we have some work to do, for sure.”