Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK Focus on Competitive Race Pace in Indonesia

03-03-2023

Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK Focus on Competitive Race Pace in Indonesia

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu and Andrea Locatelli were two of the very few WorldSBK riders to complete consistent race simulations in Friday Free Practice at the Mandalika International Street Circuit in Indonesia today.

The pair had a clear focus on preparation for the gruelling conditions for both man and machine that they will face on the island of Lombok – including track temperatures pushing towards 60 degrees Celsius – during the second round of the FIM Superbike World Championship this weekend.

Razgatlıoğlu made three very quick lap times in the closing minutes of Free Practice 2 to finish third in the combined standings, after his crew diagnosed a small problem with vibration found during the last long run. Teammate Locatelli focused solely on race pace and finished the day eighth overall, happy with the work completed and his potential for tomorrow.

The Indonesian Round’s special race schedule continues tomorrow, with a very early Free Practice 3 taking place at 8:30 local time (UTC+8), Superpole at 10:40 to determine grid position and Race 1 from 13:30.

WorldSBK Friday Free Practice results

Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu: P3 - 1'32.625

For me it was a good start, especially after Phillip Island – now I am feeling much better on my R1. Today I try a race simulation, also I am feeling just a small problem with vibration but the good thing is we understand what it is. After this I did a very good lap time – even though I went wide on two corners! With new tyres the feeling is incredible, with good grip and turning. I had one mistake, almost crash in Turn 2 because the rear was sliding a lot and I went wide – but all ok. Now I am happy, everything is nearly ready and I am just waiting for the race, to fight for the win! We will see tomorrow, the race is always difficult because everybody is strong – I will try my best.

Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK

Andrea Locatelli: P8 - 1'33.545

In the end it was another positive Friday for us because we did a lot of work and I think we understand very well what we can do for tomorrow. The feeling on the track was not so bad, I think we’re working well during FP2 on the long run and race simulation – we didn’t try to do just one fast lap, this was not our focus. So basically, we have a really good feeling on the bike and for sure tomorrow we can learn and improve a little bit more on the outright lap time. In general I am happy, I think we can try to be fast and fight – especially in Race 1 and then we will see.

Indonesian Round - Friday