Located three hours from Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK’s HQ in Dorset, Donington is the team’s home round of the championship with many partners, friends, family and fans expected to attend over the weekend to show their support for the team and its riders.
Defending WorldSBK Champion Razgatlıoğlu celebrated his first win of the 2022 season last time out in Misano, and heads to Donington confident of the opportunity to add up to three more victories to that tally at one of his favourite circuits.
In 2021, the Turkish ace put on a show for the history books when he carved his way through the field from 13th on the grid in damp conditions to second position in just one lap of the 4.023km circuit – a race he went on to win against title rival Jonathan Rea. It was one of two wins that weekend which enabled Razgatlıoğlu to take the championship lead for the first time last year. While the gap to the front is larger this time round, the goal remains the same – to challenge for victory in every race.
Teammate Locatelli’s goals are also clear, to close the gap to the front group of riders – Razgatlıoğlu and competitors Rea and Bautista – and challenge for podiums. The 25-year-old Italian currently lies fourth in the Riders’ Championship with a small buffer to the chasing pack, a credit to his consistent run of top six results in 2022.
Both Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK riders will return to the track at Donington on Friday morning with Free Practice 1 at 10:30 (BST) followed by Free Practice 2 from 15:00, as the UK enjoys a nationwide heat wave across this week with temperatures in Derby predicted to reach up to 33 degrees Celsius on Sunday.
