Andrea Locatelli’s Hungarian WorldSBK Round unravelled after he was awarded a contentious Superpole Race penalty for a Lap 1 incident.
Locatelli made a positive start to his weekend at Balaton Park, securing seventh place on Saturday in Race 1.
However, his weekend fell apart on Sunday following an opening-lap incident in the Superpole Race involving Sam Lowes and Miguel Oliveira.
Contact with Lowes at Turn 6 triggered a chain reaction, with Locatelli then colliding with Oliveira. The Portuguese rider crashed out of the race and sustained a shoulder injury.
The race was subsequently red-flagged, and after the restart, Locatelli was handed a double long-lap penalty by Race Direction.
The 29-year-old served the penalty and finished 13th, outside the points, before his weekend deteriorated further with a crash on the second lap of Race 2.
In the aftermath of the weekend, Locatelli declined to comment on the penalty, stating it was “better to say nothing” regarding the incident and the decision taken by officials.
But Yamaha Team Principal, Paul Denning, expressed Yamaha’s confusion on Locatelli’s penalty after the race weekend.
“On Andrea’s side, things unravelled not so much with the Lap 1 accident in the Superpole Race,” Denning said in Yamaha’s press release.
“But more with the extremely questionable decision to award him a double long lap penalty on the restart, for Irresponsible Riding.
“Being hit by another rider from behind in a racing incident is one thing, but then to be penalised for it is quite another, and we do not understand the decision.”
Sam Lowes defends Locatelli WorldSBK clash as ‘a racing incident’
Lowes was directly involved in the Superpole Race incident, making initial contact with Locatelli after the Italian ran wide on the entry to Turn 6 at Balaton Park.
The collision left Lowes dealing with a gear lever issue for the remainder of the race. Still, despite that setback, he was quick to defend Locatelli, insisting the incident did not warrant a penalty.
Speaking after the race, the Brit admitted he was “surprised” by the decision from Race Direction.
“He received the penalty because he returned to the racing line too aggressively,” Lowes told Speedweek.
“The penalty surprised me. But if you’ve come off the racing line and want to get back on it, where are the other riders supposed to go?
“Of course, you want to get back on the racing line because you want to defend your position.
“For me, it was a racing incident. The penalty surprised me.”
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