Pata Maxus Yamaha rider Andrea Locatelli’s Race 1 performance at Autodrom Most delivered reasons for optimism, as Round 5 of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship continued in the Czech Republic today. Qualifying on the fifth row was not a hindrance to Locatelli, who worked his way through the field methodically to run seventh by Lap 10. After a lap-by-lap battle with Alex Lowes, the team’s Italian rider crossed the line in eighth place to take a solid finish in the first

Pata Maxus Yamaha’s Andrea Locatelli continued his route towards fighting at the front of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship pack at Balaton Park, taking a solid seventh-place finish ahead of teammate Xavi Vierge, who progressed valiantly to tenth from P16 on the grid in Race 1 today. The team’s #55 rider qualified strongly to start from the middle of the second row, aiming to go with the front group at the beginning of Race 1 this afternoon in Hungary. When the lights

With a clear focus on long-run pace, Andrea Locatelli enjoyed a positive Friday Free Practice on his Pata Maxus Yamaha R1 WorldSBK, as Round 4 of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship got underway at Balaton Park in Hungary today. Locatelli matched his best lap time of the day on Lap 20 of 20 in Free Practice 2, demonstrating pin-point accurate race pace on very used tyres. The Italian #55 finished the day happy with the set-up of his R1 and progress made, focusing on the

Positive momentum is the target to take advantage a busy month of racing for Pata Maxus Yamaha’s Xavi Vierge and Andrea Locatelli, starting this weekend at Balaton Park in Hungary for Round 4 of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship, from 1-3 May. The first of three WorldSBK events coming up this month sets the stage for both Vierge and Locatelli to build on the progress made in Assen. The team’s Spaniard added to his growing experience on the #97 Yamaha R1 WorldSBK, enjo

Pata Maxus Yamaha’s Xavi Vierge enjoyed a strong start in Free Practice during the opening day of Round 3 of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship at the TT Circuit Assen today, as Andrea Locatelli continued work to return to the fight at the front. Mild and sunny temperatures in the Netherlands were welcomed by the WorldSBK class, as track action got underway in earnest. Vierge picked up where he left off at the previous round in Portugal, sitting fifth overall after Fre

Andrea Locatelli showed positive signs of returning to form with a fighting ninth-place finish in Race 2, as Pata Maxus Yamaha teammate Xavi Vierge demonstrated the potential to deliver his best result of the weekend at the second round of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship in Portugal, today. In front of an enthusiastic Portuguese crowd of over 82,000 people, the highest attendance seen at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve for WorldSBK, fans were treated to two

After a challenging start to the season, Xavi Vierge stormed to a strong sixth-place finish in Race 1 at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve for Round 2 of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship in Portugal today. The Spaniard qualified sixth on the grid in this morning’s Superpole session, earning himself a second row start for the main WorldSBK feature race at Portimão – and when the lights went out, Vierge worked to follow the podium trio as well as manage pressur

Xavi Vierge found promising race pace on board his Yamaha R1 WorldSBK in Friday Free Practice on the opening day of Round 2 of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship in Portugal today, while Pata Maxus Yamaha teammate Andrea Locatelli identified areas to improve for tomorrow. The first day of action at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve (Portimao) got underway in clear, sunny conditions with track temperatures reaching more than 40°C this afternoon. Vierge led the way

After challenging conditions earlier this week, Pata Maxus Yamaha and its Official WorldSBK riders Xavi Vierge and Andrea Locatelli remained in Portimão to take advantage of clear weather at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve today. Leading the charge and completing 74 laps on the final day of the test was 28-year-old Vierge, whose running plan included refining the base set-up of the #97 Yamaha R1 WorldSBK to further match his riding style in advance of the second round

Andrea Locatelli came through from 15th on the grid to a fighting fifth-place finish in Race 2 at Phillip Island, concluding Round 1 of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship in Australia, today. The strong result from the rain-soaked final feature of the weekend was a silver lining in a difficult opening round for Yamaha’s Official WorldSBK Team. A disappointing 14th-place finish in the dry Superpole Race this morning was not enough for the team’s #55 rider to improve his

Xavi Vierge led the charge for Pata Maxus Yamaha on the first race day of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship, until an unexpected high-side ended his potential for a top-eight finish at Phillip Island in Australia today. The Spaniard qualified on the third row of the grid in his debut race for Yamaha’s Official Team, having found more confidence on his R1 WorldSBK in Free Practice 3 this morning. With a good race start as the lights went out this afternoon, Vierge was

Xavi Vierge and Andrea Locatelli began the first round of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship in earnest with Friday Free Practice at Phillip Island in Australia today. An additional Pirelli tyre option for the race weekend, differing from the test earlier in the week, meant a new “starting position” for both Pata Maxus Yamaha riders when the pit lane opened this morning for Free Practice 1. Finishing the day P10 on FP2’s timesheet, Vierge was pleased with the work comp

Xavi Vierge and Andrea Locatelli showcased the Pata Maxus Yamaha colours on track for the first time in 2026 “Down Under” during the two-day Official Test prior to the opening round of the FIM Superbike World Championship at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Australia, which concluded today. With limited tyre options available, the eight hours of available track time across four two-hour sessions required a different approach to manage the allocation – and the compounds fo

With the covers taken off the 2026 Pata Maxus Yamaha R1 WorldSBK, Andrea Locatelli and new-signing Xavi Vierge discuss this year’s FIM Superbike World Championship ambitions – alongside key insights from Team Principal Paul Denning. Yamaha Motor Europe and Crescent Yamaha’s impressive 11-year WorldSBK Official Team partnership continues to move from strength-to-strength, with the project-leading Motorsport Division at Yamaha R&D Europe’s campus in Gerno di Lesmo at the spearh

Andrea Locatelli and new Yamaha signing Xavi Vierge returned to the track for the first time in 2026 with two days of very mixed weather conditions in pre-season winter testing at Circuito de Jerez in Andalucia, Spain. Both riders sported one-off black, grey and blue camo-coloured test leathers, taking design cues from the 2026 Yamaha Racing Paddock Blue clothing range, as the final elements of this year’s R1 WorldSBK performance package come together. Vierge continued to get