Locatelli fifth for Pata Yamaha in Aragon, suffers ‘crazy strange crashes’

Pata Yamaha were without star rider Toprak Razgatlioglu in Aragon, as WorldSBK rookie Andrea Locatelli finished fifth overall on the second day of testing. 

With the absence of Razgatlioglu, Locatelli took on the main testing responsibility for the team, while Nicolo Canepa stood-in for the Turkish rider. 

Locatelli is the current World Supersport champion and has impressed so far during testing, but found these two days at Aragon tough going. 

The former Moto2 rider called it ‘a very strange test’ following two crashes, but remains focused on improving ahead of his rookie campaign. 

Locatelli completed 118 laps over the two days, and speaking after the test, he said: "It’s a very strange feeling, because yesterday and today I had crashes – but they were so crazy strange crashes! 

"I felt sorry for the guys and the whole team, because we were unable to continue to work on track with these disruptions – having to stop and repair the bike or use alternative parts from the test plan. 

"In the end, we were able to ride a little bit and improve, it was not so bad in the end. A very strange test here for me, but now we will see for the next test. 

"We can analyse everything and the goal is to stay focused and to return here with a plan to improve again."

YART Yamaha World Endurance rider Canepa only completed the opening day of running, as he suffered from ‘pain’ following ankle surgery.  

Canepa said: "I was not expecting to ride here in Aragon, and I feel sorry for Toprak [Razgatlioglu], but for me it was a good chance to understand the level of my fitness after the surgery on my ankle. 

"I was able to test something quite important, and even if I was not able to be at my normal level it was enough to work with the guys and make some quite big improvements. 

"I was in some pain at the end of the day but even with that, it was great to ride the R1 WorldSBK machine and do some productive work."

Razgatlioglu remains in Barcelona following a further positive Covid-19 PCR test on April 10th. 

Pata Yamaha confirmed the news by saying: "Toprak [Razgatlioglu] remains well, without symptoms, and looks forward to getting back to work on his Yamaha R1 WorldSBK."