WorldSBK Misano: Locatelli looking for grip in hot conditions

In his usual under-the-radar way Yamaha’s Andrea Locatelli has been going about his work well enough to be the best of the rest behind the leading trio of Bautista, Rea and Razgatlioglu.

It was his fellow Italian Michael Ruben Rinaldi who got two podium places at Misano, however, but Locatelli’s sixth place in Superpole, Race One, the Superpole Race and Race Two still leaves him fourth overall, and two places higher in the points ranking than Rinaldi.

Locatelli knew it was going to be hard work from the start of the races, given that the top three were out on their own, and that the Ducati guys appeared to have an edge at Misano.

“To be honest, today I expected to be not more close, because the gap was not so big,” said Locatelli on Saturday evening. “If I look Jonny, the gap is not so big because just in respect to other races, respect to Estoril for example, we close just from Jonathan to me eight seconds. So, it’s not too much, but for sure I don’t like the position when I closed today.

“We need to work a little bit more for tomorrow. But it’s not my objective, but today I think with this temperature, I hope that we can do something more. Immediately from the first lap right to the end it was really difficult on the rear grip. I lost a lot on this part. We need to focus on this part of the bike to improve a little bit for tomorrow.”

Even on Saturday it seemed obvious that the red bikes had something extra over everyone, unless you were called Razgatlioglu or Rea.

“Yeah, probably,” he said. “Is the track of Ducati for sure,” said Locatelli. “Also during the testing, they come here to do a lot of tests. So, for sure for Ducati is a good track. But, normally and also here we lose a little bit with respect to the Ducati