Yamaha confident Andrea Locatelli can fight for titles; ‘he’s thinking like a winner’

Andrea Locatelli had a chance to win Race 2 - would have been his maiden WorldSBK win had he pulled it off - before crashing out of contention on the final lap.

Much quicker than team-mate Jonathan Rea throughout the weekend, Locatelli signalled his intent as he looks to lead Yamaha’s challenge. 

• Yamaha admit ‘we need to take responsibility’ after Jonathan Rea disaster 

• Danilo Petrucci: ‘WorldSBK is crazy, one of the closest championships I’ve been in’

And Andrea Dosoli believes the Italian can be a contender after seeing a new approach from his rider.

“It was clear to see that Andrea Locatelli made a big step,” began Dosoli. “Not only was this clear from his performance, but for me the biggest thing was his approach to the weekend.

“Before heading to Phillip Island, Andrea and his crew chief Tom O’Kane had a very clear target in mind – they wanted to win a race, and their performance on track shows they can achieve this. 

“I think we can say that this weekend Andrea has shown a new level of maturity as throughout the weekend he displayed a winning mentality; he is thinking like a winner.

“This is a combination of the steps he has taken himself, but also what he has learned from his new crew chief so I would like to congratulate both Andrea and his crew for this.

“It is just a matter of time before his first WorldSBK win now.”

Although Locatelli came away from the season-opener winless, Locatelli’s pace during all three races was very impressive.

Locatelli was arguably the quickest rider during both Sunday races, which bodes well for the Yamaha man as he demonstrated stunning speed in two types of races.

Pointing out his rider’s potential, Dosoli said: “In both the Superpole Race and Race 2 he was the quickest rider on the track making an impressive series of overtakes. 

“It was only the unlucky false neutral on the last lap which prevented him winning in Race 2, I am 100% convinced he deserved the win in that race. 

“Of course he is disappointed with the result of the last race, but these things happen in racing – the most important thing is he showed his potential to fight at the front. Locatelli can be a title contender this season.”