Andrea Locatelli Selected as Third Rider for Suzuka 8 Hours Yamaha Racing Team

June 15, 2025

June 15, 2025—Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. is proud to announce Pata Maxus Yamaha WorldSBK Official Team rider Andrea Locatelli as the third rider for the Yamaha Racing Team, Yamaha’s factory entry in the 2025 46th FIM Endurance World Championship "Coca-Cola" Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Road Race.

Since joining the official Yamaha Motor Europe team in 2021, Locatelli has been consistent in finishing in the top positions. This season, he took his first WorldSBK win at Round 3 in the Netherlands. Based on this and his other strong contributions, he renewed his contract with the team until the end of 2027, ensuring that he will continue to represent Yamaha going forward.

Yamaha will fully support Locatelli in his first appearance at the 8 Hours. He will be joined by teammates Katsuyuki Nakasuga, who has ample 8 Hours experience, and Jack Miller, who competes in the world’s top road racing series of MotoGP. The three will be aiming to secure Yamaha’s first 8 Hours win since 2018, which would be the ninth in total.

Tetsu Ono, General Manager, Motorsport Strategy Division, Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.
“First of all, I’m very happy to welcome Andrea to the team. Him joining completes the third piece of our puzzle, with all three riders bringing something unique to the team. Nakasuga has a wealth of experience on the R1, at the 8 Hours, and around Suzuka Circuit. Miller brings the passion and fighting spirit to fire up the team, and Locatelli has his signature consistency, along with a spirit of challenge and special motivation to take on his first 8 Hours.
“I’m sure that Team Manager Wataru Yoshikawa can combine the three riders’ strengths, and will add to that the potential of the YZF-R1 that’s been honed through All Japan competition, bringing it all together to get the best possible package to take on this year’s race.
“For the race on August 3, I think it will be just like Nakasuga said at the team launch in March, when he talked about going back to get our revenge for 2019 with a newly formed factory effort. We want to celebrate Yamaha’s 70th anniversary with an 8 Hours win, and to do it with our fans from all around the world. We’ll be counting on everyone’s cheers and support!”

Andrea Locatelli
“For me, it is a pleasure to be invited to ride the Suzuka 8 Hours for Yamaha. For my whole WorldSBK career, I have been a Yamaha rider and this is an honour, especially as I have just signed a new contract to extend my relationship with Yamaha. It means a lot to me for Yamaha to give me this opportunity; it has been something I have always wanted to do, but to do it with the Yamaha Racing Team is really special. Suzuka is an amazing track, and this is a new opportunity and experience for me, so I am very much looking forward to it. Thank you to Yamaha and all of the people working on this project, I can’t wait to go for the test and then the race as we look to achieve the best result for Yamaha in this important race.”

For Reference

Andrea Locatelli joined the Grand Prix paddock by making wildcard entries in Moto3 in 2013 before competing full-time in 2014, with his biggest success in the class coming in 2016 when he scored a pair of podium finishes in Germany and Austria on his way to ninth in the Moto3 standings.

In 2017, he stepped up to Moto2 and scored his first points at Round 7, the Catalunya GP, and in both 2018 and 2019 he consistently scored points to finish 15th and 18th in the standings, respectively. He then moved over to contest the Supersport World Championship (WorldSSP) in 2020.

Riding for the title-winning Evan Bros Yamaha WorldSSP Supported Team, Locatelli dominated the competition, winning 12 of 15 races, including the first nine in a row, scoring seven pole positions, and finishing the season with a record-breaking 333 points to be crowned champion.

In 2021, he stepped up to WorldSBK with the Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Official Team. In his maiden campaign, he scored four podiums on his way to fourth in the standings, picking up Rookie of the Year and contributing to both the teams' and manufacturers' titles. Then in 2022, his strong end-of-season form saw him pick up fifth in the riders' standings. In 2023 and 2024, Locatelli continued his strong performance, finishing 4th and 7th overall.

In 2025—his fifth season with Yamaha—Locatelli finished 3rd in Race 1 at Round 2 in Portugal, then followed it up with a 2nd in Race 1 at Round 3 in the Netherlands. In Race 2 that followed, he took his first WorldSBK victory. At present, with five rounds complete, he is 5th overall in the championship standings and highest ranked among the Yamaha riders.

Based on his results and contributions in WorldSBK, Locatelli renewed his contract until the end of 2027 at the end of May. He was also selected as a factory rider for the Yamaha Racing Team to compete in the 2025 Suzuka 8 Hours, highlighting himself as a rider tipped for further success in the future.

Personal Details

Date of Birth	16-10-1996
Place of Birth	Alzano Lombardo, Italy
Nationality	Italian
Height	173cm
Weight	65kg

Career Summary

2025	5th - FIM Superbike World Championship (at present, 126 points)
2024	7th - FIM Superbike World Championship (232 points)
2023	4th - FIM Superbike World Championship (327 points)
2022	5th - FIM Superbike World Championship (274 points)
2021	4th - FIM Superbike World Championship (291 points)
2020	Champion - FIM Supersport World Championship (333 points)
2019	18th - Moto2 (46 points)
2018	15th - Moto2 (52 points)
2017	28th - Moto2 (8 points)
2016	9th - Moto3 (96 points)
2015	20th - Moto3 (33 points)
2014	Contested Moto3