The Pata Yamaha Prometeon WSBK Team was the protagonist of a spectacular weekend at Imola. Razgatlioglu took the Superpole, the second place in Race 1 and the victory in the Superpole Race also confirmed in Race 2. Locatelli was always fast, taking second place in qualifying and the podium in the short race on Sunday morning.
Already on Friday the riders had demonstrated a great feeling for the track. Toprak had taken the lead in FP1 and Locatelli remained consistently in the top ten but never too far from the top. With the idea that it could be an important weekend for the team, everyone concentrated on Saturday knowing that it would already be crucial.
On the second day of the seventh round of the world championship the first official session took place in the morning. In qualifying the two Yamaha riders set fast lap after fast lap right from the start. Toprak took Superpole and Locatelli completed the one-two for the Iwata manufacturer by setting the second fastest time.
In Race 1 Toprak and Loka started from the front row and immediately put themselves in front by holding the top positions. The Turkish rider fought with Bautista until eight laps from the end and was able to respond to his opponent's attacks blow by blow. But towards the end of the race the heat made itself felt and the tyres suffered. For this reason Razgatlioglu had to give up, settling for second place. Locatelli, on the other hand, after the first few laps in the leading group dropped to fourth. For the rest of the race he followed Rea from a distance for the podium but was never able to attack him, finishing fourth in the final standings and bringing home important points.
In the Superpole Race the #54 and #55 started again from the first and second box of the grid. Locatelli took the lead after the start and remained in the lead for half the race, then suffered the return of Bautista and Razgatlioglu who fought for victory until the last lap. In the end Toprak came out on top, taking his second win in a row in the short race after Donington. Locatelli remained firmly in third position, which he held until the chequered flag.
With what had been achieved so far, the conditions were right for a good Race 2. In fact at the start Toprak got off to a good start from pole. At the first corner he found himself in the lead and this opened the way to a possible victory. After the first half of the race he found himself in a battle with Axel Bassani, who gave the 2021 World Champion a hard time. However, the Turk never gave up and brought home an extraordinary victory, his first of the season in a normal race after those he had won in short races. Loka finished in fourth position.
It was an intense weekend for the whole team, which after months of work got the results it was looking for, and now points to the next season's events with the ambition of continuing on this path.