OFFICIAL PROGRAMME industrial area .” I make no jokes about the people of Bergamo wanting to make dough more than most , not with Andrea ’ s line of family business before he broke the mould and became a professional bike racer . “ My family started with bakeries - Bakers Locatelli ,” said Andrea . “ The start of my grandfather ’ s business is a small shop . We have already , but my uncle continued with the bakery . My father tried to open a small industrial unit building doors . We have good work .” So could Loka knock me up a quick Ciabatta , or make me a new front door for my house ? “ No , NO !” Andrea seemed amused even by the idea of it . But he can race motorcycles . He did as a child , and that also took a lot of hard work from everyone involved . So how much of that background , whether Loka ’ s family or his work ethic that has brought about such a winning , positive mentality . How much of that is coming from inside Andrea and how much of that is coming from outside influences ? He is direct in his answer . “ I think it ’ s my father , because when I started , when I was five years old , I started with minimoto , and every Saturday , every Sunday we went around Italy to make more races . I spent a lot of time with my father .” A lot more time than most , it appears . “ I know my mother . I know my brother and my sister , but in the first part of my life from 5 years old to 10 , every weekend , I was out of my city , I was around Italy with a small van to ride the bike , every weekend . I think I have a really good relationship with my father and I think he is my secret and he is my teacher . I think his mentality is like mine .” And that is , Andrea ? “ We have just to focus to try to work every day , to improve every day . I am young . I don ’ t know why . This is my character . I think it is my father who built this in me , because I pass a lot of time with him . Also , I am not really good at things , but I like to make everything . I can paint . I can work in the garden . I like to do everything at home .” With the hands ? “ Yeah , exactly ,” he said . “ I prepared my own bike to be a training bike , because I like to work and to use my hands .” Locatelli ’ s hands-on approach to the role of racer inside the pitbox has been too much at times , and it is one of the things his current team are trying , with success , to engineer out of him . “ For sure , in character and also my spirit , also here when we work , I want to understand everything ,” Said Loka . “ I want to think about the tyres . I want to think inside the electronics . I want to think in too many parts , but it is not easy . I ’ m better now - I understand also it is better to still focus on my side - I just need to ride the bike . I have a crew chief , I have an electronics engineer , I have a mechanic , I have a tyre man . I don ’ t think about everything , because if I think about everything , I don ’ t focus on my objective . And now , I think I am focused on my objective . My crew chief Andrew Pitt helps to me to get the results . The electronic engineer helps to me to get the results , and also my mechanic . Because if I say , “ No , the disc is not okay . Maybe the setup of the bike is not okay , but the electronics we can do something like here you can push my …” No ! Because I then need to think in more areas , and in the end I make a big confusion and I can ’ t do a really good . Do you do this too much in the past ? “ Yeah , for sure ,” said Andrea . “ A little bit more .” Maybe this is one of the reasons why Andrea missed out on some things ? “ I do not know , but in the past I need and want to try to work in all parts because I don ’ t have ‘ the group ’. Now I have ‘ a group ’. I have confidence with the crew chief . I have confidence with the electronics guy . I have confidence with the mechanic .” The transition from single season WorldSSP mega-champion to WorldSBK podium finisher in such a short space of time is the most remarkable thing about Locatelli ’ s 2021 races . With so many different experiences in recent seasons for Andrea , and having crossed from one paddock to the other , how much of true success is pure talent and how much is good work , correct work , and simply more and more work ? “ For sure I have something of talent , for sure , because without talent I think you are not a champion ,” said Locatelli . “ For me , Marquez , for example , or Valentino Rossi , have a big brain and work a lot with the brain , but in the end I think is also talented . If you do not have talent , you are not a champion for me . But in the end , if you want to be a champion , you need to work also . If you have just talent , maybe you win one race , and the next race you crash . For sure now , also the big improvement I think in the motorbike world champion - in the Superbike , in the MotoGP™ , in all categories - the mentality is now very high and also the preparation is very high . Everything is very high level now .” Away from the racing , which like all racers Andrea turns the conversation back to without even knowing it . Locatelli is a normal guy in his own eyes . Who is Andrea ? He explained it in personal terms , leaning across the table . “ Now I speak with you , and I want to speak with you just like Andrea . I don ’ t like to speak with you … saying , ‘ OK , I am a rider …’ I don ’ t like this feeling . Also when at home , and maybe sometimes I go out with my friends to make a round of the city , and maybe we stop in a restaurant or the bar . Maybe my friends will say , ‘ You know this one ? He rides with the bike . He ’ s Locatelli .’ “ Oh , it ’ s Locatelli ? Say some people , can I take a picture ?” I don ’ t like to present myself like a rider . Also with girls , I prefer , “ I am Andrea . Nice to meet you .” Then when I do that , is another history . I prefer to know you like you are . I don ’ t like to … “ I ’ m Andrea Locatelli . I ride in World Superbike .” I don ’ t tell people this . I don ’ t like this feeling .” The question is , now Andrea is experiencing more success , is he still able to have a normal life in Bergamo with his friends ? It seems … yes . “ For me , we need to live the life ,” he said . “ When I am at home , I am a normal boy . I ’ m really young . I do everything like a normal young boy . For sure , I need to concentrate during the day on training and maybe spend time to go with the bike to training . In the end , okay , I don ’ t ‘ work ’ because I don ’ t go into industrial working . In the end , I need to cook . I need to prepare the bed to sleep . I need to make the laundry . I have my home . I live alone . I prepare everything . I am a normal person . When I arrive here I don ’ t change everything but for sure here is my job and although my mentality does not change a lot , I start to work for the weekend . To do the maximum in the weekend .” One thing that is peculiar and personal to Andrea , and not just in his choice of upturned hippie ‘ festival ’ hat , emblazoned with stickers and badges that he wears in press conferences , is that we have been told that almost everything he owns is yellow . He ’ s not denying it … “ I have everything yellow .” And it ’ s not even the colour of the Bergamo football team ? “ No . I have also a yellow car . I love yellow . I don ’ t know why . It ’ s a good colour . In Italy , yellow is the sun . My character is also yellow . It ’ s one person when every time he ’ s happy . He ’ s a good person , I think . I don ’ t know , but yellow is my colour .”
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