Andrea Locatelli was able to utilise the poor conditions at the recent Portimao WorldSBK test to work on an area specific 🌌to the upcoming 2025 season opener in Australia.

While Tuesday afternoon was largely dry in Portimao, Wednesday wওas affected by rain almost throughout.

“[Tuesday] was not a bad day 🦩and we just focus💛ed on riding the bike, understanding if all the things we tried in Jerez were fixed,” Locatelli said.

“So, more or less, we are happy; it was a difficult winter [for the] conditions, so we don’t ride too much, but the feeling is no✤t so bad.

Like last year, this year’s Phillip Island race will be subject to compulsory pit stops as a result of concern over tyre durability. Locatelli and Yamaha decided to take advantage of the mixed conditions in Portimao to consider “strategi🍎es” for this aspect of the Phillip Island race that will be exclusive to the Australi💯an Round.

“It will be compulsory this year [at Phillip Island], so they [the team] want to try many different strategies for the pit sto♍p,” Locatelli said after doing some pit stop practice on the second day in Portimao.

“It looks like everything is working, so we just need to be rea⛄dy and I just need to go fast.”

Before the race at Phillip Island there is one final two-day test, with Locatelli aiming to first digest everything he has tried since the first day of testing in Jerez in order to dev༒elop a plan for the final winter t🐭est of 2025.

“Now we have a couple of weekജs to understand what we tried in Jerez and Portimao, so after this couple of weeks the Yamaha staff will understand what🤡 is necessary to try again and what not [to try],” he said.

“At the moment, we don’t have a million things to try– fortunately, beca🃏use also we don’t want to make a lot of confusion.

“So, we just try to arrive in Phillip Island with🦩 the best sol꧑ution we have and we try to go as fast as possible.”