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With a fourth place in the Superpole Race and two retirements in the long races, only six points were put on the scoreboard by Andrea Locatelli in the penultimate round of the season at Estoril. A result that does not do justice at all to the weekend of the rider from Bergamo, who came within a whisker of returning Yamaha to a podium that has been missing since the July round at Most. When it was Loka himself who gave a third place in Race 2 to the team in blue.
This is the reason why Locatelli can only see the glass half full at the end of the trip to Portugal. "In the end, we can take some confidence from this weekend, because we were always in the leading group. We once again showed our potential and pushed for the maximum result as we always do, coming very close to the podium," acknowledged the 27-year-old, taking stock of a weekend that saw him re-enter the Top 5 after difficulties encountered in the last few races.
Forced to ride on the limit to try to keep up with the furious pace of BMW and Ducati, Locatelli did not want to see the two crashes that prevented him from finishing Race 1 and Race 2 with a good placing as a defeat. Rather, as an opportunity to grow and not repeat the same mistakes in the future. "We can learn, understand what happened and maybe even find a solution," he noted, "I want to keep the motivation and good feelings we had here in the last race of the season and try to do my best again."
Words that perfectly capture the mindset and attitude with which the 2020 World Supersport Champion faced up to this 2024. A particularly complex season for Yamaha. Grappling with a year of transition after Toprak Razgatlioglu's farewell, in which it has been called upon to chase its opponents with a bike far from the performance of its rivals, while trying to fill the void left by the Turkish rider.
A task that on paper should have fallen to his successor Jonathan Rea, but which the rider originally from Val Seriana, confirmed as the Japanese manufacturer's leading rider in this his fourth year in World Superbike under the banner of the Iwata manufacturer, took charge of to all intents and purposes.
A year in which Locatelli's definitive leap in quality was expected. Despite not yet having taken his maiden victory in the premier class, Loka was able to give Yamaha two second places at Phillip Island, in addition to third place at Most, which to date represent the best result achieved by the Japanese squadron in this troubled 2
