Pata Prometeon Yamaha’s Andrea Locatelli took the Best Lap Award from Race 1 at Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours in France today, and recovered to eighth position after early contention for the win before rain wreaked havoc throughout the field.

In conditions where the rider and their confidence can make all the difference, it was ultimately an unlucky day for Pata Prometeon Yamaha on both sides of the pit box.

A wet Superpole with many yellow flags meant a “clean” lap was difficult to find, but even P9 on the grid did not stop Locatelli from a confident race start when the lights went out this afternoon. The 27-year-old Italian expertly worked his way up to second place on his intermediate-specification tyres before the skies completely opened up on Lap 3, causing a loss of front grip on his #55 Yamaha R1 WorldSBK when he arrived at the hardest braking point on the circuit at Turn 5. Despite losing a lot of time after the subsequent crash, he was able to continue, return to the pit box for rain tyres and recover positions with a strong race pace through to the end of Lap 21 – as many of the field fell foul of the wet conditions.

Likewise, Rea was confident of an opportunity to fight for a positive result in Race 1, starting the race aggressively on his choice of slick tyres. However, at the end of Lap 1, as Niccolo Bulega suffered a massive high-side directly in front of Yamaha’s #65 bike, Rea was forced to react to avoid the accident and also went down at the final chicane.

Rea has been transferred to a specialist hand hospital for treatment to a deep laceration sustained to his right thumb from the crash and will return to Magny-Cours tonight. A decision on if he will ride tomorrow will be taken in the morning.

Andrea Locatelli – SP: P9 / Race 1 P8

“In Superpole, it was crazy! In five or six laps, only one lap counted because of the yellow flags. Nearly every lap was cancelled so it was difficult to make a good lap, but in the end, we started from P9. The conditions today were tricky because when we were on the grid, the track was close to dry. We made the choice to start with the intermediate tyres and I was pushing hard in the beginning just to try to take some steps forward, because I saw that if it did not start raining immediately, the guys who chose the slick tyre would probably have a big advantage. So, I tried to give my all – when I came to braking at Turn 5, it started raining quite fast and then I was already on the corner. It was difficult to control the situation and I lost the front. I stopped for the rain tyre and in the end, we recovered a lot of positions with good pace. Unfortunately, we lost a lot of time when I crashed because the bike did not start immediately – it was a bit unlucky but I can say that today I made a mistake because without the crash, we were on the podium. It is always easy to say this later! We just need to look forward and understand what is positive, what is negative and look forward to tomorrow.”

Jonathan Rea – SP: P8 / Race 1: DNF

“It was not the day I planned! I felt there was a good opportunity for us when we were on the grid and I was pretty clear with my slick tyre choice. Not a great start but I was making progress in Lap 1 and going into the last chicane, Bulega was a bit off line and went down so I just tried to avoid him on the switch back but I just got a wet patch or a bit off line and I was down as well. Unfortunately, my hand got stuck under the handlebar and on my thumb joint, the tarmac ground away the skin and it is really not very nice to look at. As soon as I saw it and felt the throbbing, I knew something wasn’t right and I ran directly to the Medical Centre by the last corner... Really frustrating, I was hoping to bring everyone some good news from the race today but unfortunately there is still a black cloud following us around at the moment.”

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.”