After learning his trade over seven seasons contesting the Moto3 and Moto2 classes, Andrea Locatelli (Yamaha) switched his focus to the FIM Supersport World Championship in 2020 and immediately struck gold following a campaign of almost complete domination.
• All the 2020 FIM World champions
Winner of the opening round at Australia’s Phillip Island before the championship was put on hold for five months because of COVID-19, the Italian was immediately on the pace when racing resumed at Jerez at the beginning of August where he raced to a double victory. The next stop was at Portugal’s Portimão Circuit one week later when he again remained unbeaten and he replicated this result at back-to-back rounds at the MotorLand Aragón track at the end of August and beginning of September.
His incredible win-streak was finally ended when he slipped to fourth in the first race at round six at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, although he recovered to take victory in race two along with the title with two rounds and four races still to run thanks to an audacious double pass on Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki) and Philipp Oettl (Kawasaki).
Race victories at the final two rounds at Magny-Cours in France and Estoril in Portugal put the seal on a remarkable debut season in the SWC with his final winning margin a commanding one-hundred-and-four points ahead of France’s Mahias with Oettl from Germany a distant third.
PALMARES
FIM Supersport World Champion: 2020