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THAIWorldSBK Day Three - Chaz Davies scores direct hit on rivals

In an unpredictable second race in the Motul Thai Round, Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) surged through the field to take a 28th career victory and a first around the Chang International Circuit, becoming a third different winner in the opening two weekends of the 2018 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship. Davies produced a stunning ride with an average gain of a position per lap over a seven-lap period, hitting the front by the end of lap eight and controlling the race from there.

Taking advantage of the reverse grid format, it was the Pata Yamaha duo of Michael Van Der Mark and Alex Lowes who made the early break, but as they squabbled among themselves the remainder of the pack stayed in touch. Lowes was the second of three riders to lead a lap on the Chang International Circuit as he passed teammate Van Der Mark on lap two, but the Dutchman came back through and led for the next five laps. Eventually both overhauled by Davies the Yamaha pair nonetheless did enough to secure second and third positions, the first double podium for Yamaha since 2016. Lowes, in particular, was satisfied with an extra surge of pace in the seven closing laps that helped him to claim an eighth career podium.

Kawasaki´s unbroken record of victories at the Motul Thai Round was finally ended on a day where neither of their top performers could make it on to the podium at all. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) failed to take advantage of his front row grid slot, dropping back to ninth by the end of the opening lap and eventually retiring from the race.

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), meanwhile, finished just three seconds from the podium places after an action-packed ride. Following an excellent first lap that saw him surge through from ninth to fourth with a series of aggressive inside overtaking moves, Rea had put himself among the favourites for victory and threatened to make it back-to-back wins. But the Race One victor struggled in handlebar-to-handlebar combat, making a series of errors that ruled him out of contention for the win. His first duel was with Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), a shadow of the rider that looked in command in Philip Island, and the pair swapped positions on no less than five occasions before Rea eventually came out on top.

By the time Rea passed Melandri on lap nine and then shook the Italian off, Xavi Forés (Barni Racing Team) had overhauled the pair of them to move clear in fourth. But Rea in clear air was a different proposition to the rider who had struggled under side-by-side pressure earlier on, and he hunted down the lead independent rider before an overtake on lap eighteen.

Upon reflection, despite not being the result he would have hoped for, Rea´s fightback to fourth could prove critical in the Championship Standings overall. Marco Melandri, series leader coming into Race Two, had another disastrous race in which he was relegated to seventh and never looked comfortable on the bike. And Xavi Fores, who had looked set to close on both Rea and Melandri in the Championship Standings and leave the three separated by just five points, conceded fourth place three laps from the finish to change the complexion of the series standings. With the riders of him in the race well adrift of him overall, Rea becomes the Championship leader and the man with the momentum as the highest scorer of the series´ top three for a second race in succession.

Meanwhile three of the top ten in the points coming into Race Two failed to finish. Tom Sykes retired with mechanical problems after seven completed laps, and therefore drops 26-points back from the leader and down to seventh overall. Retirement for Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) and Jordi Torres (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) was more spectacular, the pair coming together on lap five when dicing over eighth place: both riders will now arrive to Europe next month out of the top ten in the Championship leaderboard. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was the rider to take advantage in Thailand, finishing best of the rest in eighth ahead of Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia), who did well to nurse his injured shoulder into the top ten in the race.

The Championship resumes with the Pirelli Aragón Round in three weeks´ time.

P1 – Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) “It was fantastic, what a race. For the first few laps it was absolute carnage but brilliant carnage. It was such good fun trying to figure out where you can make the pass and to be honest everyone has had such a good pace every weekend and its been so difficult to know who was fast where, so it was an exercise of patience. Just so happy with the win, its not been an easy few months but thanks to the team and Ducati for the fantastic package today.”

P2 – Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) “After yesterday I was not feeling that happy at all, and we made a few changes in warm up and I still wasn’t happy. But we made some changes back to Friday’s set up and changed the front tyre and and we made a podium, so I hope it’s the first of many.”

P3 – Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) “To be honest I was to slow in the first 12 laps, like yesterday, Michael just passed me and pulled away. It was a bit annoying I had to dig deep and kick on, it’s a bit frustrating so we need to work out what the issue is. But it’s fantastic for Yamaha and the whole team, and amazing to have such great racing.”

#THAIWorldSBK at Chang International Circuit: Race 2 1. Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 2. Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) +2.185 3. Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) +3.884

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THAIWorldSBK– Day 2: Jonathan Rea dominates race one in Buriram

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) took an excellent victory in Race One of the Motul Thai Round, continuing a dominant weekend that has now seen him take pole position, a race win and fastest lap. The 3-times World Champion certainly didn´t have things all his own way, with Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), who was narrowly pipped for pole position in Superpole 1, twice overhauling his teammate to hit the front. But when Rea finally repaid the compliment he was able to stretch away and then manage his advantage to the finish.

Sykes, meanwhile, dropped gradually backwards as the race went on. He was unfortunate to slip from third to first as Rea took command at the front of the peleton, Leon Camier (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team) coming through and running second for some time, and Sykes eventually only able to manage sixth.

Camier, meanwhile, was one of the stars of the show, as he put in a masterclass in defensive riding and for some time looked set to end a barren run with a first podium finish since 2013. In the end he lost out to Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), who made a perfect block pass for his second podium of the campaign. But Camier, with fourth position, has the consolation of pole start when the grid positions are re-set for tomorrow´s Race Two.

After a disappointing Tissot Superpole performance and fall, Australia´s double winner Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) rose to fifth position by the end of the opening lap but steadily dropped back to eighth despite showing inconsistently strong pace. Victory for Jonathan Rea means Melandri retains the Championship lead, but the Italian´s advantage is cut to just two points.

Meanwhile Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team), with an excellent runner-up result, moves above Tom Sykes and into third position in the series overall. The independent runner passed Sykes on the track into turn three for a provisional place on the race podium, and picked off Leon Camier on lap twelve to secure his best result in 69 starts. Meanwhile the line-up´s other main Spaniard, Jordi Torres (MV Agusta Reparto Corse), faded quickly after a strong qualifying, ran wide and off the circuit whilst seventh and was later passed on the penultimate lap for ninth by Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia).

The same lap saw Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) take fifth position from Tom Sykes, completing an excellent second half of the race in which he recovered from eighth. Lowes had earlier enjoyed another side-by-side combat with his teammate Michael Van Der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team), before the Dutchman slipped back to seventh.

With the top ten separated by just eleven seconds in Race One, and plenty of change in the rankings compared to results last time out in Australia, Race Two promises to be a similarly entertaining affair.

With the reversed grid format, lights go out for race two at 16.00LT (+7 GMT) for the Buriram battle.

P1 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) “I am so so happy, where we started the weekend was behind with the set-up but I had 100% faith in my team, so thanks to everyone. We are starting to head in the right direction, and my team have worked really hard all weekend, it was a long 40 minutes for me too, I think I deserve a cold bath after that!”

P2 – Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team) “It was a really hard race with the weather and the battle with Leon at the beginning of the race, he was hard to overtake. When I got into my rhythm I was pushing hard to catch Jonny, but he was riding perfectly and I was not able to arrive with him, but this is like a victory for me. It’s like a victory for me and we will see what happens tomorrow.”

P3 – Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) “I made it hard work for myself from the third row, it was a good scrap with Leon in the closing laps, I showed him the wheel a few times and he was so late on the brakes. I was able to bide my time and got past Leon, but then it was too late to do anything about Xavi and Jonny but we will see what we can do tomorrow.”

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WorldSSP: Lucas Mahias continues his perfect season

Lucas Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) dominated Tissot Superpole 2 to continue his perfect run in the 2018 FIM World Supersport Championship, with a second pole position and now in a perfect place to chase a second race victory as well. Mahias blitzed the field by eight tenths of a second in the early stages of the session, and only in the closing minutes did any of the other riders get within half a second of his effort.

Mahias´ teammate Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team), fourth at the Yamaha Finance Australian Round, has some head-scratching to do before Sunday´s WorldSSP race as he finished almost half a second back. Meanwhile Jules Cluzel (NRT) split the GRT Yamaha duo to make it a French 1-2 up front, two tenths of a second behind pole-sitter Mahias.

Randy Krummenacher (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team), who appeared Mahias´ closest challenger throughout Friday practice, was surprisingly relegated to the second row of the grid in fifth. The Swiss star will start alongside fellow Yamaha Finance Australian Round podium finisher Sandro Cortese (Kallio Racing), with Anthony West (EAB antwest Racing) behind him in sixth. The Australian veteran was best-of-the-rest, with a significant gap behind the lead quintet and the remainder of the pack.

Home rider Ratthapong Wilairot (Yamaha Thailand Racing Team) leads row three after an excellent day, in which he progressed comfortably from Tissot Superpole 1 and then took seventh in Tissot Superpole 2. Fellow countryman Thitipong Warokorn (CORE Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team) has proven himself similarly matched throughout the weekend, and will share the burden of the home support at the Chang International Circuit come raceday tomorrow.

Racing action begins at 14.30 LT (+7 GMT), as the battle will be on to take the second trophy home of the season.

Pole position – Lucas Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) “It was a very good qualifying and I’m very happy with the lap time, I have a very good feeling this weekend. After Phillip Island I was not too confident with my physical condition, in the hot temperatures it’s difficult but I worked a lot during the break and I’m very happy. The bike is perfect, the team have worked very hard and if you look at least years lap times you can see the team have worked hard.”

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Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes back on top after tough day in Buriram

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) starred in Free Practice Three at the Chang International Circuit, where there was never much more than a tenth of a second separating the top five. Each of the best eight in the combined results set their fastest time in the third session, and rankings were therefore changeable throughout. But Rea continued a day of steady improvement, climbing from eleventh in FP1, to fourth in FP2 and finally to lead the list of automatic qualifiers to Saturday’s Tissot-Superpole session.

Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) was the biggest name not to improve in FP3 as, after heading the timesheets in FP2, he collided with Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team) in dramatic fashion. Both riders bit the asphalt but climbed back aboard their machines, Fores later confirmed fit to continue his weekend after suffering an abrasion to his toes. Both finished comfortably inside the top ten despite the incident: Fores, who finished FP1 on top, remained the lead independent rider as has become his custom in 2018, while Laverty dropped back to ninth.

Behind the lead British duo on the timesheets, Jordi Torres (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) finished third having, until the final batch of hot laps, sat first.

Aruba.it Racing – Ducati runners Marco Melandri and Chaz Davies made the biggest improvements in FP3. Australian double winner Melandri found almost a second to leap from tenth to fourth, and Davies showing no ill effects after his crash in FP2.

Leon Camier (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team) was the top Honda runner throughout, with Yamaha also represented in the top ten through Michael Van Der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team). The Dutchman finished the session just two thousandths of a second clear of crash duo Fores and Laverty, with his teammate Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) also behind and occupying the last of the top ten positions.

Behind the break-away group of eight, there was a close contest to hold on to a place in the top ten: four riders separated by one and a half tenths of a second. Despite setting more laps than anyone in the three sessions combined, Loris Baz (GULF ALTHEA BMW Racing Team) was unable to force a seventh manufacturer into the day’s top ten, the Frenchman twelfth but well clear of the pack of independent riders directly behind.

WorldSBK riders take to the track at 10.45LT (+7 GMT) for FP4 ahead of a jam packed Saturday, with Superpole at 13.55 and the action kicking off with Race One at 16.00LT.

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THAIWorldSBK: City of happiness to bring glory for WorldSBK

Destination of Speed awaits the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK), as they head to Thailand and the well established circuit in Buriram, as 4.5km of sweeping tarmac prepares to welcome the 19 WorldSBK riders, for what is set to be a sensational second round of the season. Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) arrives in Thailand as the championship leader, breaking Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK’s Jonathan Rea’s string of 76 races at the top, but the fight isn’t over and reigning world champion Rea will be the man to beat around Buriram. The battle for glory in Thailand is on!

Melandri will be looking to take his third consecutive win when the lights go out on Saturday, as the Italian heads to Thailand as the only WorldSBK victor of 2018. The 35 year old is preparing for a tough fight, and after narrowly missing out on a double podium finish last season, he will be looking to improve his pace – especially through the tricky final corner in Buriram. Whilst Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) has a mixed bag of results from Thailand – including two podium finishes – he will be searching for a more positive weekend in Asia.

Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK are no doubt the bench-mark around the Asian circuit, with an 100% win record in Buriram. Jonathan Rea took the double victory when SBK® first visited the circuit back in 2015, whilst Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) joined him on the podium in race one. 2016 welcomed an 100% podium record for the duo following sensational British battles on track, of which Rea was the victor in Race One and Sykes in Race Two. Whilst 2017 welcomed the unstoppable Rea on his way to his third consecutive title, as he took the double in dominant style – closely followed by Sykes. Will 2018 see the end to their Thai reign? There are plenty on men on a bid to stop them.

2016’s pole position man Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) will hope to put the opening race of the season behind him, as he suffered a tough first outing in Australia. But with a strong history around Chang International Circuit, the Dutch rider sets his sights on his second podium appearance in front of the hordes of fans, his first back in 2016. Fellow Buriram podium finisher Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) will be keen to get his YZF-R1 on the podium in Thailand, and he will be keen to remain in the top five of the championship standings after Round Two.

Impressing with their new rider line up for 2018 in Australia, Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team of Leon Camier and Jake Gagne will have another challenging weekend ahead of them. Sitting in sixth position overall in the standings, Camier will be hoping to improve his overall record around the 4.4km circuit, where he has struggled in the past. With a new bike and team, the British rider will be putting everything he learnt from his first race with the CBR1000RR to good use this weekend. Whilst for Gagne it will be another track to learn, giving him even more of a test for the three days ahead.

Milwaukee Aprilia team-mates Eugene Laverty and Lorenzo Savadori don’t have many happy memories of Chang International Circuit, which they will be looking to rectify for the 2018 MOTUL Thai Round. Italian Savadori has welcomed two top ten finishes here, whilst Irish hopeful Laverty has only competed here once, and took home one point from both races. With some big steps with the set-up of the RSV4 RF made in Australia, there will no doubt be two determined Aprilia riders around Buriram.

Jordi Torres (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) has a strong record from Buriram in the past, as the Spainish rider has never finished outside of the top eight over all six appearances. Continuing to learn the dynamics of this new team, as well as the characteristics of the F4, it will certainly be a challenge for Torres but with the added confidence of the strong history – including two top four finishes in 2015, he will be one to watch.

With their sole rider of Loris Baz making his debut in Buriram this weekend, the GULF ALTHEA BMW Racing Team will have a big challenge on their hands. Keen to get the weekend underway, the French rider will be keen to put in plenty of laps on his S 1000 RR throughout the start of the weekend as he prepares to get himself in the best possible position for the weekend ahead.

Whilst the battle between the Independent Rider’s roars on into Thailand, of which Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team) is dominating. Taking a podium finish in Australia and sitting in fourth position in the overall championship standings, the Spanish rider is the clear outstanding independent rider so far. However, with a mixed record around the circuit he will no doubt face some strong challenges from his fellow Independent Team’s and Riders.

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Fourth successive win for dominant JonathanRea

The second round of the 2017 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship concluded with another superb victory for Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) on Sunday at the Chang International Circuit, with Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) and Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) also on the podium.

In a restarted fourth race of the season, Rea took a brilliant win by just over four seconds from Sykes, to continue a brilliant start to the season for the Northern Irishman. Sykes made it a Kawasaki one-two with a last lap move on Melandri.

In the original Sunday race a big crash for Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia) at turn 12 just after a technical fault saw the red flag come out due to track conditions, with debris left on track by the Italian’s accident.

After a quick restart procedure the riders did battle over 16 laps, with Rea taking control as he got away from the front of the grid, which was based on the positions at the end of the fourth lap of the earlier curtailed race.

In the first race start Rea had shot up from ninth on the grid to soon contest the lead with Melandri who had started well from pole, with the World Champion taking over from the Italian at the front on the fourth lap. After the race restart Melandri could not hold Rea back with the Kawasaki man charging away as the laps progressed, with Sykes eventually also getting the better of the Ducati man.

Thanks to a perfect start to 2017 defending champion Rea now leads the championship by 30 points from Davies, ahead of the third round of the season at Aragon in three weeks time.

Meanwhile, the Motul Thai Round was a successful weekend for Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) who finished Sunday’s race six seconds off the podium in fourth, having finished sixth in Race 1. Spaniard Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team) followed the Englishman across the line for fifth.

An solid performance by Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) after the restart saw him fight through the pack from 19th to eventually finish sixth – having gone down on lap three at the third corner in the initial race, losing the front end and rejoining at the back of the field.

Nicky Hayden (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team), Xavi Fores (BARNI Racing Team), Roman Ramos (Team Kawasaki Go Eleven) and Markus Reiterberger (Althea BMW Racing Team) completed the top ten.

Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) missed out on the points due to technical issues with his bike, which meant he was unable to take part in the restarted race.

Stefan Bradl (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team) unfortunately crashed out at turn 12 after five laps of the restarted contest and did not finish, whilst Randy Krummenacher (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) had to retire midway through the 16-lap second race of the afternoon due to a mechanical issue.

Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) crashed out of fifth under pressure from Torres at turn 6 with eight laps to go, whilst Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) was advised by the marshals to stop six laps from the end of the race with smoke pouring from his MV Agusta 1000 F4 machine.

The WorldSBK riders return to action over the 31st March – 2nd April weekend at the aforementioned Pirelli Aragón Round, the third round of the 2017 season. Top Three: 1st Jonathan Rea – Kawasaki Racing Team “This is my best ever start to the season, I’m feeling good with the bike. I was so nervous about the ninth place start to be honest because this track is so hard to pass, especially with the speed of the Ducati’s. I’m really lucky that I had sector three pretty dialled in, and by T4 I put my head down and managed to snap Marco after three or four laps. This is a massive thanks to all my team, theyve been working relentlessly so these race wins are for them.” 2nd Tom Sykes – Kawasaki Racing Team “We struggled all weekend a little bit, I’ve been working hard over the winter to try and overcome some limitations. I just had to change the way I ride and it shows, because on the last lap I did my fastest lap of the race. Today was hot, greasy conditions which normally work against us but we are trying. We kept going until the last lap and managed to get second position so overall not a bad weekend.” 3rd Marco Melandri – Aruba.it Racing – Ducati “To be back on the podium is huge, but it was a very tough race, and we were passed two times with the same pass! I was struggling with the front break for the first few laps I knew Sykes was going to pass, because the lever was touching my hand when I was braking, so I knew he was going to be very strong. Thanks to my team and I can’t wait to be back on the podium again.”

#THAIWorldSBK at Chang International Circuit: Race 2 1. Jonathan Rea Kawasaki 2. Tom Sykes Kawasaki +4.078 3. Marco Melandri Ducati +4.195

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Runaway Race One Victory for JonathanRea

The third race of the 2017 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship in Thailand on Saturday brought a third successive victory for defending WorldSBK champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team), after he set a new pole record lap earlier in the day. Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) joined Rea on the podium after a 20 lap race in stiffling temperatures of 36°C.

The Northern Irish rider held on to the lead after a good start saw him take the holeshot from pole. Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), Sykes and Davies positioned themselves behind Rea’s Kawasaki ZX-10R in the early stages but none of them could match the World Champion’s pace.

Davies won the battle for second, finishing six seconds behind Rea and just under two seconds in front of the pursuing Sykes. Melandri was just off the podium, less than a tenth of a second behind Sykes, whilst a good performance from Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) saw the Dutchman complete the top five.

Another solid race from Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) saw his good form continue in sixth place, with the top ten completed by Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team), Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse), Nicky Hayden (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team) and rookie Stefan Bradl (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team).

Nearing the end of the race, in which the riders completed over 91km in the intense heat and humidity of Buriram, Xavi Fores (BARNI Racing Team) dropped back from the fight for eighth with Torres and finished 11th.

A technical issue with the RSV4 RF of Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) at turn 5 on the final lap cost him points when he was running in seventh, whilst Ayrton Badovini (Grillini Racing Team) crashed on lap 6 and suffered a DNF, though fortunately the Italian was unharmed in the incident.

The second WorldSBK of the Round 2 weekend in Thailand takes place at 4pm local time on Sunday at the Chang International Circuit, which will see Melandri start from pole position, ahead of Van der Mark and Lowes.

1st: Jonathan Rea – Kawasaki Racing Team “I felt really good and quite calm, my guys gave me a really good bike again and that was my plan. We had a really good pace but Chaz also had a very fast pace, as did Marco, so I had to ride away into T1 to make the holeshot, I wanted to get my head down in T1 and I did it. I managed to get a good gap and then built up a rhythm, I was just doing my job and it was enough to win, so I’m really happy.”

2nd Chaz Davies – Aruba.it Racing – Ducati “Looking at the big picture I’m pleased with today’s performance, but I wanted to win. This morning I thought we might be close, but by the end our pace is just not good enough.I think there are a number of things we need to look at. Who knows if it’s something we can turn around overnight, but it’s going to be a little bit tough.”

3rd Tom Sykes – Kawasaki Racing Team “I took an opportunity to get on the podium and it finally worked, and we are now able to get a lot of information. I had a small problem for a good part of the race with the braking system, but I think that will be fixed now. I’ll hopefully be strong on the brakes but overall it’s quite acceptable and I feel like we can bring the fight tomorrow.”

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WorldSSP: JulesCluzel shows his mettle for pole position

Saturday’s WorldSSP action at the Chang International Circuit saw Jules Cluzel (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) produce a lap of 1’37.683 for pole position, in a Tissot Superpole 2 shootout which took place in scorching hot (36°C) conditions.

Despite suffering a fracture of the sacrum bone in a final lap crash at Phillip Island at Round 1, Frenchman Cluzel demonstrated his tenacity to lap quicker than the rest of the field in the intense Thai heat. Just behind him on the grid is impressive local wildcard Chalermpol Polamai (Yamaha Thailand Racing Team), who lapped +0.447s behind Cluzel.

French rider Lucas Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) completes the front row having qualified +0.473s behind his compatriot Cluzel, with another Thai wild card Decha Kraisart (Yamaha Thailand Racing Team) heading a second row which will also feature Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) and Kyle Smith (GEMAR Team Lorini).

Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team), Hikari Okubo (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) and Christian Gamarino (BARDAHL EVAN BROS. Honda Racing) are on row three, with Kyle Ryde (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), PJ Jacobsen (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Gino Rea (Team Kawasaki Go Eleven) on the fourth row. Rea appeared to have technical issues towards the end of Tissot Superpole 2 and lapped +1.74s off P1.

From the earlier Tissot Superpole 1 session Caricasulo and Khairuddin were the riders to make it through to Superpole 2. Meanwhile Kallio Racing colleagues Niki Tuuli and Sheridan Morais (Kallio Racing), along with Robin Mulhauser (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda), were just behind Khairuddin in Superpole 1 and therefore start the second WorldSSP race of 2017 on row five.

Indeed Sunday’s WorldSSP race in Thailand will commence at 2.30pm local time at the Chang International Circuit.

Pole Position: Jules Cluzel – CIA Landlord Insurance Honda “We were faster by half a second, so I am happy! I really feel good; I did after my first run, but I was out on track alone. I feel like the first session was warm up, and the second I just pushed. I wanted to push as I thought I was a little bit behind the Thai rider, but I did a good lap. I enjoyed a lot and I think tomorrow will be even better, well I hope so!”