Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) made a long-awaited return to the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship on Sunday at the Autodrom Most, with the Yamaha rider claiming third place in a hard-fought Race 2. The #55 started from sixth on the grid in the final race of the Czech Round but battled his way through the field to claim third place and to stand on the WorldSBK podium for the first time since the Phillip Island Tissot Superpole Race.

Locatelli lost a place at the start and was demoted to seventh but was back in sixth not long after when he got ahead of Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team Motocorsa Racing). He gained another place when Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) took the first of his two Long Lap Penalties for a jump start before getting ahead of fellow Yamaha rider Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) on Lap 8. He spent several laps in P4 before overtaking Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) for third on Lap 14, before finishing the race 5.462s down on winner Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team).

Discussing his return to the podium, Locatelli said: “I think we did an incredible job on Sunday because the start from P6 is never easy, and also starting P9 for the Superpole Race is never easy. We went step by step to improve the bike and the feeling. In Race 2, we made a big step forward and the feeling on the bike was much, much better. I was struggling more than Saturday, it was really warm, so it was really difficult to fight with the bike but with the step we got from the bike, I had more confidence and kept a good rhythm until the end. We need to be happy because we got a podium. We know the other riders are always pushing and it’s never easy fighting for them. I think, with Yamaha, we made a big step forward. This is a big gift for us.”

With the step being reiterated by ‘Loka’ in his interview, he was pushed on what changed on his Yamaha R1 between the Superpole Race and Race 2. In the Sunday morning race, Locatelli moved up the grid from ninth to sixth to secure a second row start for Race 2 and the team were able to use that race to help take a step forward for the afternoon race and claim a rostrum finish.

When asked about the step the team made, Locatelli said: “Honestly, when we analyse sector by sector, we weren’t so far away overall. We were missing something in sectors three and four, this was the main problem. We learnt, especially after the Superpole Race with the rear SC0, the bike was complicated to ride. With this data, we understood the bike well and made a step. In these areas, the bike was much easier to turn and stay with the other guys. We made a big step there.”

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