Pata Maxus Yamaha, Xavi Vierge and Andrea Locatelli began work in earnest for Round 7 of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship at Misano World Circuit in Italy today, welcomed by sunny, summer weather on the Adriatic Coast. One of the busiest rounds of the season awaits, as Italian fans flock to Misano for WorldSBK this weekend – with track action underway during Free Practice 1 and 2 on Friday. Pata Maxus Yamaha, alongside Yamaha Motor Europe’s engineers, started with a

It’s Andrea Locatelli’s turn to enjoy a home race weekend as Pata Maxus Yamaha and the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship travel to Misano World Circuit this weekend, from 12-14 July. A podium in the short 10-Lap Superpole Race last year was a highlight for the team’s Italian rider, at a venue where many of his fans from Bergamo make the journey to support “Loka” and the team. Sharing the pit box this year is teammate Xavi Vierge, and following a two-day performance test l

Spaniard Xavi Vierge and teammate Andrea Locatelli leave MotorLand Aragon with a sense of “what might have been” after a challenging final day in Round 6 of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship. The #97 Pata Maxus Yamaha crew found a significant step forward in setting that enabled Vierge to deliver strong pace on his R1 WorldSBK in the 10-Lap Superpole Race, where he was battling hard within the front group of riders just a couple of seconds away from the podium positio

Pata Maxus Yamaha’s home race hero Xavi Vierge persevered in punishing hot conditions to finish in the points in Race 1 at MotorLand Aragon today, Round 6 of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship, as teammate Andrea Locatelli frustratingly fell from contention on Lap 5. The two riders hoped to take a step forward following Free Practice yesterday, with the aim to start the first full-length race this weekend from good grid positions. WorldSBK’s Superpole qualifying, where

Andrea Locatelli and Xavi Vierge started work in Friday Free Practice for what will prove to be the hottest race weekend of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship so far at MotorLand Aragon today, refining their race pace Yamaha R1 WorldSBK set-up in gruelling conditions. Track temperatures were officially recorded as 53 degrees Celsius during Free Practice 2 this afternoon, the hottest point of the day, but the team’s direct asphalt measurement was much higher – 62 degree

Andrea Locatelli and Xavi Vierge enjoyed two days of “perfect” weather on the Adriatic Coast to complete a productive performance test at Misano World Circuit for Pata Maxus Yamaha. Warm, sunny temperatures and track conditions up to 50 degrees Celsius greeted many of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship field, whose teams opted to join the private test alongside their competitors in preparation for the Emilia Romagna Round taking place next month. The mid-season test w

Andrea Locatelli, Xavi Vierge and Pata Maxus Yamaha closed out the Czech Round of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship at Autodrom Most today, with Locatelli’s fightback to a ninth-place finish in Race 2 providing fuel to push on to a two-day performance test at Misano World Circuit this coming week. The team’s 29-year-old Italian rider came through to 11th place in the Superpole Race this morning, but finishing outside of the all-important top nine positions meant he wa

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

Andrea Locatelli and Xavi Vierge both look to take another step after finding renewed confidence on the opening day at Autodrom Most for Round 5 of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship today, where the tightly-contested top 15 were separated by less than a second on the combined timesheets. Despite grey skies and the threat of rain all day, only a few spots of rain fell at the start of Free Practice 2 but not enough to delay the work taking place this afternoon. For both

Andrea Locatelli and Xavi Vierge are back on track again this weekend pushing for strong results for Pata Maxus Yamaha in Round 5 of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship at Autodrom Most in the Czech Republic, from 15-17 May. Locatelli has claimed two podiums in Most since joining the premier class in 2021, and aside from two DNFs, he has always finished in the top ten – and mostly inside the top six. The rider from Bergamo enjoys the short layout and has often been in t

Xavi Vierge, Andrea Locatelli and Pata Maxus Yamaha were disappointed to not be able to maximise their full potential on Sunday at Round 4 of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship at Balaton Park in Hungary, today. Vierge did everything possible to overcome a difficult qualifying position throughout the weekend, once again coming through from P17 on the grid in the Superpole Race to the top 10 this morning, just one place shy of an improved slot for Race 2. The Spanish ri

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

Another top six result for Xavi Vierge was backed up by seventh-place in Race 2, while Pata Maxus Yamaha teammate Andrea Locatelli converted a Superpole Race P9 into an eighth-place fightback at the TT Circuit Assen for Round 3 of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship in the Netherlands, today. Despite cold temperatures and the threat of rain, both the Superpole Race this morning and Race 2 took place in dry conditions. Vierge kicked of the 10-lap sprint with a strong sta

Andrea Locatelli performed strongly to secure a sixth-place finish in Race 1 of the Dutch Round of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship at TT Circuit Assen today, as teammate Xavi Vierge’s hopes of turning a fine fifth-place qualifying to an equally strong result were put on hold until tomorrow after a challenging 21-Laps. Another frenetic and tightly-contested Superpole session this morning saw Vierge start from the second row of the grid for the first WorldSBK race of

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

Pata Maxus Yamaha and the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship head towards Round 3 in the Netherlands, at TT Circuit Assen from 17-19 April, with the team’s highly motivated riders Andrea Locatelli and Xavi Vierge eager to get started. The “Cathedral of Speed” holds special memories for Locatelli, who celebrated his maiden WorldSBK win at the famous circuit in 2025 in style, with an emphatic triumph in Race 2. The Italian is no stranger to the podium in Holland, having also

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