Jonathan Rea’s teammate has set a lofty goal to win the season-openi🌺ng Australian World Superbikes round this weekend.

Andrea Locatelli will be the on💛ly Pata Yamaha rider at Phꦑillip Island, after Rea injured his foot earlier this week during testing.

But Locatelli, who was seventh-fastest on Monday afternoon in testing in Australia, then third-fastest on Tue🌜sday afternoon, has high expꦫectations.

“It was i🦄mportant, these two days, to get back the feeling we missed from the winter tests,” he said.

“I am not 100% happy with the w🔯ork that we’v😼e done. But we are happy with the race simulation.

ꦇ“It looks like we can fight for♔ the podium. My suggestion when I arrived was to just focus on winning.

“Why not? It’s a special track. I have more motivation than usual✱.

“I don’t want to fly, I want to be a realist, bu🍬t I really fꦡeel that we can.

“I need to work a✱ bit more but I have Friday to work on the bike a bit more. We have more data to comp♎are.

“I’m confident for the weekend.

“I am not so happy becღause I’d like to be P1, especially at this track.

“It would be a ℱdream. I have missed i🐻t many times. Last year we were close to winning.

“I want to be on the podium, I want to win the race. Dreaming,💟 maybe, but I want to.

“This is my objective. Until Sunday night I will push on t꧟he throttle.

“I’m not happy because we are still missing a bit, but we can f෴ind something during the race weekend.”

WSBK rivals to beat?

Ducati’s Nicolo B✅ulega asserted himself as the man to beat, during testing earlier this week.

Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu will be in action despite a heavy cras🍒h on Monday.

Locatelli said about his rivals at the front: “It’s difficult to know or say. During the race weekend, the conditions🅺 will be different.

“There are many manufacturers doing a reallyꦫ good job.

“It will be difficult to wꦕin bu🎃t, for us, it is important to start this season in the best possible way.

“This can be an opportunity. I want to believe.”

Is the 2025 Yamaha better?

Locatelli compared his 20ꩲ25 Yamaha to la🦩st year’s version.

“It’s difficult to compare on this track because we h𒆙ad two different tyres𝔉,” he said.

“Also, the ground was new last year. I feel likꦑe we’re still missing grip [compared] to last year.

“If I compare last year to this year🐼, with these difficult conditions, we have made a step forward.

“But꧟ it’s difficult to be 100% sure if it’s better or not.

“What we have 🔯brought is not wrong! I believe in what we have.꧟ We are still working and can get more.”

Locatelli will take a new swingarm into the season which he hopes wi🐽ll p🌺ay off.

“The swi🐭ngarm was one of the big things to try in the winter but the weather didn’t help us,” hꦫe said.

“It’s working, at the moment. We ♐are happy about this. Overall it worked on this track.

“With this, we will gain. With the🦩 older package, it [would ha🍸ve been] wrong.

“With this🔜, we will improve. It is a goꦯod point for us.”