The Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team is all set to take part in the penultimate WorldSBK round, taking place this weekend at the Estoril Circuit in Portugal.
For this eleventh round, Sandro Carusi’s team will field two riders, with Bradley Ray joined by wildcard Luca Bernardi.
Born in San Marino on 29 August 2001, the young Italian began his career in 2014, in the Italian CIV championship, first in Premoto3 and then in Moto3. He moved to Supersport 300 in 2017 and immediately secured the Italian title. In 2018 he competed in WorldSSP300 before returning to CIV in 2019, in the Supersport class. The following year he was crowned Italian Supersport Champion and moved to the world championship, in the same category, in 2021. Having made a strong start, scoring five podiums and a pole position, Bernardi sustained injury at Magny Cours and was forced to end the season ahead of time. Back on track in 2022, he made the step up to World Superbike, where he banked 35 points. The following year he lined up in the CIV Superbike class, where he has spent the last two seasons, scoring three race wins and 11 podiums. This is his first experience with the Yamaha YZF-R1.
At Estoril he will flank Bradley Ray, who showed a level of consistency during the latest Motorland Aragon round that bodes well ahead of the season finale.
The Estoril circuit is located close to Cascais and roughly 25 kilometres from Lisbon. The production-derived championship returned to the Portuguese track in 2020, 2021 and 2022, having previously visited in 1988 and 1993. The track is very technical and measures 4.182 kilometres in length, with a straight of almost 1 kilometre and 13 corners, nine of which are right-hander and four left.
Carusi Sandro - Team Principal
"I’ve long followed and admired Luca’s career, ever since he competed in the bLU cRU series with the R3 and then all the way to World Supersport. I’m pleased to be able to give him a second chance in Superbike after his unlucky start in 2022, alongside Ray who continues to grow. This serves as another test bench for our team ahead of 2025, when we’ll field two bikes in WorldSBK.”
Bradley Ray - Rider
“I’m very happy to race at Estoril this weekend. The last time I was there was back in 2011, so I’ll practically have to learn the track all over again, also because I’ve never ridden a superbike there. Despite that, I’m sure I can score good results and continue the hard work I’ve been doing with the team at previous rounds.”
Bernardi Luca - Rider
“As I head into this Portuguese round, I hope to be able to work well with the team and immediately find good feeling with the R1, which I’ve never ridden before. I’m not setting myself any particular goals aside from working as hard as I can and hopefully making progress over the weekend. I know the Estoril track, having raced there in 2022, when I scored points in both races. I want to thank Sandro Carusi and Yamaha for giving me this great opportunity and will do my best to repay them with the best possible results.”
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