Hopes for a strong Sunday comeback for Andrea Locatelli and Pata Prometeon Yamaha were not realised on the final day of competition at Round 8 of the 2024 FIM Superbike World Championship, at Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours in France today.
A ninth-place finish in Race 2 was little consolation after a difficult weekend for Locatelli and the entire Pata Prometeon Yamaha squad, after podium potential in the Superpole Race was cruelly ripped away by a clash with Danilo Petrucci at Turn 5 on Lap 5, which saw Locatelli crash out of contention.
The subsequent fourth-row grid position put Locatelli on the back foot for Race 2, and despite his and the team’s best efforts, he was unable to substantially reverse his fortunes in the final feature-length fight.
Jonathan Rea took no further part in the French Round after his crash in Race 1 on Saturday. He underwent surgery in Clermont-Ferrand on Saturday evening to repair a deep abrasion and tendon damage to his right thumb and returned to the track to watch the Superpole Race on Sunday morning before travelling home. A further update on his recovery will be issued ahead of the next round in Cremona, Italy, due to take place on 20-22 September.
Andrea Locatelli – SPRC: DNF / Race 2: P9
“Overall a really difficult weekend and we don’t get to bring home a lot of points. It was tricky conditions, especially yesterday and we lost an opportunity to potentially make the podium. This morning, I felt I had a good chance but also I crashed because I was pushed out by Danilo. In Race 2, we did not make a step forward because the set-up was not perfect especially in the rear– I believed that it was possible to be able to fight, but the feeling was not the best and this is what I could do for today. We have another race in Cremona coming up and we were fast there during the test, so I am looking forward to reset a little bit and go full gas again. I want to say thanks to all the guys on the team who are working hard – it was a difficult weekend and unfortunately, we didn’t get any good results which is frustrating but, in any case, we always try to give our maximum. Let’s see what we can do in Cremona.”
Jonathan Rea:
“Unfortunately, my injury needed specialist attention and I had to have an emergency surgery to repair some damage in my right thumb. I will understand my recovery day-by-day, but I would just like to thank the track medics and especially Dr Antoine Martins for fixing me up. Thank you to all my team, my fans and all my sponsors that continue to support me in this tough period.”
Paul Denning – Team Principal, Pata Prometeon Yamaha:
“Magny-Cours has been the toughest of tough weekends. Race 1 yesterday, with the changeable track conditions, offered a clear opportunity for both JR and Loka to fight for the podium – but JR’s Lap 1 crash and resulting injury put him out for this weekend, meaning that all opportunities were gone. For Loka, getting caught out by the rain shower when he was closing in on the lead yesterday, being punted out of podium contention by Petrucci in Turn 5 in the Superpole Race and then a really difficult Race 2 capped off one of “those” weekends. We obviously hope that Jonathan is going to be able to ride in Cremona – it could be a really tough challenge, but whatever the case we are focused on regrouping and doing our best to perform a lot better at Yamaha’s Italian home race.”
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