Pata Yamaha Enjoys Positive 2021 WorldSBK Preparation Test at Jerez

18-11-2020

Pata Yamaha Enjoys Positive 2021 WorldSBK Preparation Test at Jerez

Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Official Team got their 2021 FIM Superbike World Championship preparations underway in the post-season test at Jerez and accomplished a significant amount of work. Toprak Razgatlıoğlu ended the test second fastest overall as Andrea Locatelli showed early promise in his Superbike career, quickly adapting to his Yamaha R1 across the two days.

Focusing on development work ahead of next year, Razgatlıoğlu completed 173 laps of the Circuito de Jerez in total, with his best time of 1’38.855, set on the second day using an “X” specification race tyre, good enough for second overall, while the Turkish rider’s excellent feedback and consistent pace will help guide the further development of the 2021-spec Yamaha R1.

For Locatelli, this test marked his first two full days of riding the 2020 Yamaha R1 and provided an early opportunity to work with his crew chief, Andrew Pitt, and his side of the Pata Yamaha garage. The Italian youngster completed 162 laps and went seventh fastest, with a best time of 1’39.878, having shown a big improvement on the test’s second day.

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu: P2 - 1’38.855 / 173 laps

Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Official Team

It was a very positive test for me. We tried many new parts and both the team and I are really happy because we’ve got a good direction ahead of 2021. We worked mainly on the race tyre and have improved the rear grip a lot. I focused on fast and consistent lap times, the goal was to be in the low 1’40s and we managed to do that. I did a good lap time on the X tyre, which I was pleased with! We need to work on maximising the Q tyre and try some other set-ups before we get going next year.

Andrea Locatelli: P7 – 1’39.878 / 162 laps

Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Official Team

It was a very exciting two days for me, the conditions here in Jerez this week were perfect. The feeling on the Yamaha R1 was really good and I’m beginning to understand the bike better and better. Every lap we improved over the two days, which is a good starting point as we look to the future. I’m very focused, there is still some work to do, but I’m really looking forward to being back on the Yamaha R1 again.

Paul Denning - Team Principal

Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Official Team

Most importantly, I think we can count ourselves lucky to be here with everything that’s going on in the world at the moment. On top of that, the weather’s been perfect and Yamaha did a great job bringing so many new development parts to evaluate for the 2021 season. The riders worked incredibly hard, with Toprak doing 173 laps and Andrea completing 162 over the two days. In terms of the development work, most of that was focused on Toprak, given his experience both of WorldSBK and the Yamaha R1. He approached the test very positively and enjoyed this new responsibility! Andrea’s job was to gain more experience on the Yamaha R1 and to understand how to be fast and consistent. He took huge steps forward between day one and two. The engineers and crew chiefs have a huge amount of data and rider feedback to analyse, and these two days will put us in a stronger position for the future.