Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) secured a second-place finish in Race 1 at the TT Circuit Assen, first briefly taking the lead on Lap 1 before fighting to secure P2 in a dramatic MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship battle. The Italian helped complete an all-Italian rostrum in the Netherlands as he continued his sensational start to the season, moving up to third place in the Championship standings following his second podium of the season.

‘Loka’ secured sixth place in the morning Tissot Superpole session but wasted no time in getting up to speed when lights went out for the 21-lap race. He was up to second by Turn 1 and soon got ahead of Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) at Turn 5 on the opening lap, although ‘Bulegas’ powered straight back through at Turn 6. Locatelli held second place until Lap 9, when reigning Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) came through, but it didn’t take long for the #55 to respond on his former teammate.

Having stayed with Razgatlioglu after the BMW rider passed him, Locatelli then utilised Turn 5 on Lap 13 as he jabbed his Yamaha R1 machine up the inside of ‘El Turco’ at the left-hand hairpin to re-claim P2, before escaping some seven seconds up the road from the #1, who ultimately finished in P4 behind Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) as the Italian claimed the final spot on the Race 1 rostrum.

Reflecting on his 20^th podium in WorldSBK, Locatelli said: “Honestly, I was quite surprised because I was sure we were strong, but I could never have imagined that I could fight for P2! For the podium, yes, but not for P2 and finishing with a big gap. We did an amazing job; we’re working really well and had a good Superpole. Like I said yesterday and at Portimao, we are starting to put the puzzle together to be fast in every situation and session. I’m quite confident with the bike and we’re working well, so this is a good result for us. I’m still thinking about it because I didn’t realise that I was P2. I’m happy but at the same time not because we have two more races! It’s a great day.”

It's the second time this season that Yamaha have had three bikes in the top 10 of a race, following on from Race 1 at Portimao – when Locatelli was also on the podium after claiming P3. After the Italian’s P2 in the Netherlands, Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) finished in P7 while his teammate, Remy Gardner, was one place behind him in P8 after a strong day for the Japanese brand.

Can Yamaha finish the Assen weekend how they started it, with more rostrum visits? Find out using the WorldSBK VideoPass!