Locatelli: Not really happy, lost too much grip on full lean angle

Andrea Locatelli takes his third consecutive ninth place finish at Misano on a day where Pata Yamaha get their first WorldSBK win of 2021 thanks to Toprak Razgatlioglu.

Locatelli’s home round at Misano was solid without being spectacular as he continued his top ten form, but was outshone by fellow Italian rookie Axel Bassani. 

The 2020 WorldSSP champion was unable to stay in the battle for seventh with Bassani and Alvaro Bautista in race two, however, it was another strong weekend overall as Locatelli moved to tenth in the championship standings. 

The 24 year-old acknowledged improvements were made from Saturday’s race one to Sunday, but that losing too much time on Friday, was the reason for him being unable to fight for anything better than ninth. 

"We improved a little bit today but in the end I am not really happy because I lost too much grip on full lean angle," added Locatelli.

"I tried to stay with Bassani and Bautista in Race 2 but it was not possible. In general, we improved during the weekend but maybe we lost too much time on Friday and we could not understand the best way to improve. 

"But we will see now we have two days of testing in Navarra to learn the new track and also continue to work for the next races. 

"For sure, we will not stop and make sure that we arrive ready for the next round of the championship. Toprak’s win was very nice! I am really happy for him, he’s a very nice guy and he works a lot for it and it is a fantastic result for the team."

Race performances remain the strong point of Locatelli's start to life in WorldSBK, as he once again went forward in both race one and the shorter sprint race - like in Aragon and Estoril.