Penultimate WorldSBK event this weekend for the Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team at the Estoril circuit in Portugal. In this eleventh round, Sandro Carusi’s team will deploy a two-pronged attack, teaming Bradley Ray with the wild card Luca Bernardi, who will therefore take over from Alessandro Delbianco, who like him had played a “one-off” outing in Cremona.
Born in San Marino on 29 August 2001, Bernardi began his career in 2014 in the CIV Italian Speed Championship, first in Premoto3 and subsequently in Moto3. In 2017 he moved to Supersport 300 and immediately won the Italian title. In 2018 he raced in the 300 world championship and then returned to the CIV in 2019, this time in the Supersport class. The following year he became Italian Supersport Champion and in 2021 he moved to the world championship in the same category.
After an excellent start, with 5 podiums and a pole position to his credit, Bernardi was injured at Magny-Cours and the season ended there for him. He returned to motorbikes in 2022, making the big leap to the Superbike world championship, in which he collected 35 points with Team Barni. The following year he took part in the CIV again, but in the Superbike category, where he raced in the last two seasons, achieving 3 victories and 11 podiums. This is his first experience with the Yamaha YZF-R1.
“I have always followed and admired Luca’s career, from his participation in the bLU cRU championship with the R3 to his successes in the Supersport world championship. I am happy to be able to give him a second chance in Superbike, after his unfortunate debut in 2022, alongside Ray which is growing continuously. For our Team it is a further test for 2025, when we will field two bikes in WorldSBK”, said team principal Sandro Carusi.
“I face this Portuguese round with the hope of feeling at ease with the team and immediately finding a good feeling with the R1, which I have never driven before. I don’t set myself any particular objectives other than to put in the maximum effort and do a weekend of growth. I know the Estoril track from having already raced there in 2022, when I scored in both long races. I thank Sandro Carusi and Yamaha for offering me this great opportunity and I hope to repay them with the best possible results.” , added Luca Bernardi.
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