Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK Ready to Race for the Altar at the Cathedral of Speed

Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK riders Toprak Razgatlıoğlu and Andrea Locatelli are ready to fight for podium and race honours this weekend, as the second round of the 2022 FIM Superbike World Championship gets underway at TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands from 22-24 April.

After a record-breaking pole position in Aragon and three scintillating races to start the new 2022 season, it is with great excitement that the team heads to Assen with the same goals as ever: to challenge for the podium and race victory.

Both Razgatlıoğlu and teammate Locatelli enjoyed third-place podium results at the Dutch circuit in 2021, but were left with a feeling of what could have been. For “Loka”, it was the venue of his maiden WorldSBK podium, even though he had to wait for Race 2 for the opportunity after a track-limits infringement on the final lap saw him relegated to fourth in a relentless Superpole Race.

Razgatlıoğlu, who had the pace to potentially challenge for victory in 2021, is looking to carry the same momentum of fastest-lap results and positivity from this year’s pre-season winter testing and the opening round in Aragon through to the top step across the full race distance.

The Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK squad have been regular podium contenders at the historic 4.542 km “Cathedral of Speed” but Yamaha has not won a race in the Netherlands since Ben Spies’ title-winning season in 2009, a statistic the team could overwrite this weekend.

The first chance to assess the 2022 Yamaha R1 WorldSBK performance on this “riders’ track” will be on Friday morning with Free Practice 1 at 10:30 (UTC+2), followed by a second 45-minute Free Practice 2 at 15:00. The weather forecast looks mild, but as the WorldSBK paddock have seen in the past, anything is possible at Assen: from snow flurries to summer sun!

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu:

“I like Assen a lot and even with some bad luck, last year we were very strong there. I hope to be able to fight for race wins again and will try my best. I am very lucky to have an incredible team – Yamaha and the team, they never give up, they have done an incredible job over the winter and we have been fastest in winter testing again and again – also pole position in Aragon. It is this feeling I want to take to Assen, we will try our best to work for the races and we will see.”

Andrea Locatelli:

“I am looking forward to riding in Assen this weekend, it is a great circuit and we have some good memories from my first podium there last year. I think we can be strong this week, together with the guys we will always look to improve in the sessions to be able to fight for the podium and some good results. I want to be more in front and be able to go with the front group of riders from the start, this is my goal and it would be really nice to do it in front of the fans here in Assen!”