Following success at Misano with Razgatlıoğlu and the team’s first victory of 2021, the largely UK-based squad are hoping for a repeat of its recent run of podium form. Donington Park was the site of the team’s dominant double win in 2018, which saw the first victory for Yamaha since the manufacturers’ return to WorldSBK competition in 2016.
Razgatlıoğlu also has fond memories of the circuit, having celebrated his first podium in WorldSBK in the runner up position in Race 2 of the same year. The Turkish ace’s personal record on British soil includes two further second-place finishes in 2019 achieved before he made the switch to Yamaha.
Teammate Locatelli will race for the first time at Donington Park this weekend, having missed the opportunity to tackle the unique circuit during his title-winning season in the FIM Supersport World Championship category due to the pandemic. The 24-year-old welcomed the opportunity to become familiar with the undulating layout during a training day, on a standard Yamaha R1, earlier this month with British Superbike rider Tarran Mackenzie on hand from the McAMS Yamaha team to offer advice.
The first opportunity for both riders to turn a wheel in anger will come on Friday morning with Free Practice 1 at 10:30 (UTC+1), followed by Free Practice 2 at 15:00, with mixed weather conditions expected over the weekend.
