2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship
Round One – Phillip Island
Andrea Locatelli
Q: How did your weekend go?
Andrea Locatelli: “Superpole, because we started from P9, was not easy, especially yesterday in the wet, here on this track. We always see it is difficult to overtake well here, in the end we closed on P5 during the Superpole race, but I wanted to try and leave here Phillip Island with a podium.
“We got this so I am really happy and I’m really proud of my job and the job of the guys because we worked very well during the test. We worked well during the winter test in Portimao and Jerez, so I think this is one objective for sure.
“We need to continue to work to try to be more close but I think we have a good package, so we just need to believe in it and we can get the maximum.”
Q: Do you understand from data, from yesterday, why Toprak struggled here? Same bike, same team, you share information, why is he struggling and you succeeding?
Locatelli: “Is difficult to say, but I can just say Toprak is a bit different riding style, so probably this is the problem. I don’t know, it’s just my idea. I’m a bit disappointed because I think last year was not so bad, but I don’t know what happened.”
“We always work to be at the front, so fortunately we are working well, on my side, we worked well doing the pre-season to we arrived here with a good idea, with a good base set-up, and we tried to push and it was good. Everything was good, so for me it’s not easy to say what happened about him.”
“I think we have a good package for braking, for turning, for edge of the corners, we will see what happens next week. In the end we need to get what we can get, the points.”
Q: What does this result mean for you, considering the last year?
Locatelli: “Last year, in the end, was a good weekend here, but my first time on the superbike, was not easy, it was like yesterday with the good weather, shit weather, good weather, shit weather. I was learning on the track, and learning the situation.
“It was a difficult weekend last year, but in the end we were close to the front riders and the first rider, so it was not so bad for sure. This winter we worked well and when we arrived here, everything was more clear, and I think this is the result.”
“I have more experience, I understand faster and what’s happening on the bike, for sure the experience is helping everybody. It’s just my third year on the superbike, it’s a long time, but also a short time, in respect to Alvaro for example, or to Rinaldi, or Toprak, or Jonny, we can say a lot of names.
“I believe in my job and I’m always working and so I think in the end there is a route, and the work is helping on the results, so this is enough.”
World Superbike Championship Points
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Alvaro Bautista | 62 |
| 2 | Andrea Locatelli | 34 |
| 3 | Jonathan Rea | 31 |
| 4 | Michael Ruben Rinaldi | 31 |
| 5 | Axel Bassani | 25 |
| 6 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | 23 |
| 7 | Iker Lecuona | 22 |
| 8 | Philipp Oettl | 20 |
| 9 | Danilo Petrucci | 15 |
| 10 | Xavi Vierge | 14 |
| 11 | Dominique Aegerter | 12 |
| 12 | Scott Redding | 10 |
| 13 | Remy Gardner | 10 |
| 14 | Garrett Gerloff | 8 |
| 15 | Alex Lowes | 6 |
| 16 | Michael Van Der Mark | 4 |
| 17 | Loris Baz | 1 |
| 18 | Hafizh Syahrin | 1 |
