Team owner of CDR Yamaha Monster Energy commends reduced schedule.
Image: Foremost Media.
CDR Yamaha Monster Energy team owner Craig Dack has declared the right decision was made by Pirelli MX Nationals officials to cancel racing after the first round of motos at Appin’s opening stop in New South Wales today.
Continuous rain in the lead-up to this weekend’s opener and during today’s proceedings offered incredibly treacherous conditions, with riders lapping the Macarthur Motorcycle Club venue one-minute slower than last year’s event held in an adequate state.
While acknowledging the gritty sport that motocross is, Dack explained that there comes a point where the riders safety needs to be considered, with today’s shortened schedule satisfying him as the boss of the two top tier riders in Kirk Gibbs and Luke Clout.
“Last night we almost had three inches of rain, and I’m sure we’ve had nearly that today,” Dack told MotoOnline.com.au. “They really didn’t have any options – it was almost impossible to make a lap. I thought the decision they made in taking out Superpole and cutting practice and qualifying down – that was a good condition.
“Running the one moto was also a good decision – there’s a danger aspect to it. We know motocross should be rain, hail or shine, and it’s man and machine – we get that – but I think sometimes it gets to a point where it’s just nuts. All in all, I think the right decision was made.”
WorldSBK 2019 – Round Two
Chang International Circuit, Buriram
Superbike Race One
An action-packed start saw Bautista originally get a flying start but Buriram specialist Jonathan Rea got ahead of the Spaniard through Turn 1 with Alex Lowes in behind (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team).
Superbike Race One
The GRT Yamaha WorldSBK riders of Sandro Cortese and Marco Melandri ran wide at the same turn, with Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) slicing under them and into fourth. At the end of lap one, the top four were covered by 1.1s. A lightening start from Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) saw him elevate from 10th on the grid to fifth by the end of the opening lap.
Superbike Race One
On lap three, Jonathan Rea led by a narrow margin ahead of championship leader Bautista, who has topped every session so far in Thailand this year. At Turn 3, Bautista made his move, only for Rea to cut back underneath him, colliding with his rival. Bautista made a miraculous save and whilst Alex Lowes came through, Bautista shook his head in disgust at Rea’s aggressive pass.
Whilst Rea led, towards the end of lap three, Bautista made a pass on Lowes at the final corner, only to run wide and Lowes to pass him back down the front straight. Soon enough though, on the fourth lap at Turn 1, Bautista made his way through on Lowes and then set off in his pursuit of the four-time champion.
Behind the leaders, the Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team riders started to battle to form a battle for the final podium position. Van der Mark couldn’t make a move however and Lowes would maintain a strong pace right through the race. Behind them, Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was keeping a watching brief, whilst Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) began to reel in the battle for the podium.
With 12 laps to go, Bautista had regained the ground on Rea and set about trying to find a way ahead of the Kawasaki-mounted rider. On the run to the Turn 3, Bautista got ahead and this time, he was able to make the move stick and Jonathan Rea couldn’t fight back straight away. The two continued to romp away from the rest of the pack and whilst Rea didn’t lose too much time on Bautista initially, lap after lap, Bautista’s metronomic pace soon saw him break clear. That is how it would stay until the end of the race.
With the third place battle seemingly a stalemate between the Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team riders, Leon Haslam was starting to feel the pressure of Marco Melandri. Melandri made his way ahead on lap 11, but the battle was far from over. With just five laps to go, a rough lap from Melandri allowed Haslam to close up and make a move at the final corner. Haslam ran wide and the wily Italian cut back under him, clashing on the start and finish straight. Yet another Kawasaki in a collision, but this time, eventually, Haslam would win the fight.
Leon Haslam
At the line, Bautista took the win by 8.2s ahead of Rea, whilst Lowes held on ahead of Michael van der Mark by 0.4s to take his third Buriram podium.
Alvaro Bautista
In fifth position, Leon Haslam clinched the place over Melandri after the Briton suffered some brake problems in the race, whilst Sandro Cortese took seventh after a late battle with Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team).
Tom Sykes was ninth after being pushed back due to his top speed deficit, with Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) coming from 13th to 10th.
Toprak Razgatlioglu
With battle between the Spaniard and the Ulsterman, Alvaro Bautista’s win makes him the first Ducati rider since Neil Hodgson in 2003 to win the opening four races of a WorldSBK season. He gives Ducati their 345th win in the World Superbike class, as well as their 587th WorldSBK podium. He also becomes the first non-British rider to win at the Chang International Circuit.
Alvaro Bautista
The win also extended Bautista’s advantage in the Championship to 18-points over Rea with the Spaniard on 87-points to the Northern Irishman’s 69-points and Alex Lows on 46-points.
P1 – Alvaro Bautista
“For sure for me this was a different race completely from Australia! It was fantastic to win after a great fight with Rea, especially at the beginning and then in the middle. We made contact in turn 3 because I overtook him on the line and suddenly he came in very fast and hit me and I was very lucky not to crash and damage the bike. After that I got my pace and caught Lowes and Rea. Today however I didn’t feel so comfortable with the bike: in the morning it was good but in the afternoon I had problems braking into the corners, and in acceleration I was suffering a bit as well. Despite this, I won again and I’m happy even though the feeling wasn’t perfect.”
Alvaro Bautista
P2 – Jonathan Rea
“I felt really good with the bike and we got the maximum form the package so I am looking forward for tomorrow. I was really proud of my effort and I enjoyed it. I love riding on that level but unfortunately the result did not reflect that effort. We can make a small improvement tomorrow but I feel we got the best out of our package today. At the end, there was no reason to keep pushing so I started to think about bringing back 20 points. Today second was the best that I could do and I was happy to bring it home. I am excited for tomorrow, especially for the sprint race because I feel like I can ride at that intensity for ten laps no problem, and maybe we can fight to the end.”
Jonathan Rea
P3 – Alex Lowes
“It’s a really good result, but I didn’t feel as comfortable in the race as I thought I would; I think the conditions were slightly different for the race compared to this morning. It meant I struggled a little bit with the front, especially with a full fuel load, but then I saw the front two had pulled a gap and my pit board was saying I had a group of three behind me, so I didn’t want to make a mistake. I settled into a rhythm that I knew I could maintain to the end, and even have a little bit left over to fightback if someone passed me. In the end the pace was high enough to pull a slight gap on the group behind. While I’m happy to finish on the podium, it’s also a little disappointing to be so far from the win when I felt like I rode really well. When I was battling with Alvaro after he ran wide, the speed he came past me on the short straight was a bit frustrating because I couldn’t even stay in his slipstream. So, a shame to be so far off the winner, but I’m satisfied with the third place.”
Alex Lowes
P4 – Michael van der Mark
“It was a good race today. I got a fantastic start and had a bit of a battle with Tom Sykes in the beginning and, after I managed to get past him, it was a case of trying to chase down Alex in third place. I managed to close the gap and I was a little bit faster in a couple of places, but I felt like I just didn’t have the speed to put in a pass and pull away. So I sat behind him for most of the race, waiting for an opportunity in the closing stages, but he was a bit stronger on the brakes. We both had our strong points on the track, but he managed to get away to take a well-deserved podium and I’m happy to pick up the points for fourth after a strong race.”
P5 – Leon Haslam
“Honestly, I struggled in the race. We had a little problem with the brakes with about nine laps to go, which meant I was pushing the front quite hard. With about five or six to go the front tyre was really struggling. I am not happy with fifth, although we were close to a third, but we need to improve a little bit and make a few small changes. I got caught up with a few of the riders and I was not very confident in passing. We need to make a few little tweaks and then hopefully we can get on the podiums tomorrow.”
P6 – Marco Melandri
“It was difficult today. I didn’t get a good start but initially I managed to come back and make up places, but then I was struggling a lot with the stability issue on the straights. It meant I couldn’t sit on the seat on the straights but instead I had to keep weight on the footrests all the time, so there was no chance to breathe on the straights like normal. We made a set-up change to make the bike a bit more stable but the compromise was that we lost some rear grip, so I had to try and gain time under braking and by carrying more corner speed, but then the traction dropped off a lot after 10 laps.”
Sandro Cortese – P7
“It’s been a good Saturday here in Thailand. A good performance in Superpole meant I started the race today from P4 on the second row of the grid but, unfortunately, I couldn’t stay with the second group from about the halfway point onwards. From that point it was a long and tough race but we finished P7, which is my best result so far in WorldSBK. Tomorrow will be another hard day but I think we are working in a very good direction. Maybe after qualifying fourth people were expecting a bit more, but we need to be realistic. Top eight was our goal and we achieved that so, overall, I’m happy with today.”
P9 – Tom Sykes
“I think everyone saw today the potential of the BMW S 1000 RR. In the corners and in the braking areas, I think our potential is very high. It’s just a bit unfortunate that we are missing out on straight-line speed and losing positions on the straight. I was very happy with the performance in the corners, the corner speed and the general turning of the bike. Again: the first time I rode this bike was on 18th December. It is very early stage of the programme. I have a lot of experience and to just put things into perspective I think that we are doing a very, very good job. For now, we have a limitation on speed performance but in the areas of chassis, suspension and electronics everybody has done great job already and honestly the handling of the bike is impressive. Considering the nature of the track and to do these lap times was promising for me, considering what we are losing in the first two sectors. When I had battles on the track today I was actually surprised how strong we were in some areas. So we keep working!”
Tom Sykes
Buriram WSBK Race One
Pos
Rider
Bike
Gap
Best Lap
Speed
1
A. Bautista
Panigale V4 R
0.000
1’32.724
309,5
2
J. Rea
ZX-10RR
8.217
1’32.763
302,5
3
A. Lowes
YZF R1
14.155
1’33.167
304,2
4
M. Van D M
YZF R1
14.623
1’33.493
298,3
5
L. Haslam
ZX-10RR
18.554
1’33.272
304,2
6
M. Melandri
YZF R1
18.681
1’33.334
303,4
7
S. Cortese
YZF R1
25.603
1’33.881
297,5
8
M. Rinaldi
Panigale V4 R
27.627
1’33.892
305,9
9
T. Sykes
S1000 RR
28.789
1’33.767
300,0
10
T. Razgatlioglu
ZX-10RR
32.153
1’34.364
300,8
11
J. Torres
ZX-10RR
33.033
1’34.226
302,5
12
L. Mercado
ZX-10RR
33.254
1’34.302
296,7
13
L. Camier
CBR1000RR
34.232
1’34.475
302,5
14
M. Reiterberger
S1000 RR
43.041
1’34.592
300,0
15
C. Davies
Panigale V4 R
54.495
1’33.801
306,8
16
T. Warokorn
ZX-10RR
1’15.758
1’34.684
305,1
17
A. Delbianco
CBR1000RR
1’25.108
1’36.626
287,2
Not Classified
RET
R. Kiyonari
CBR1000RR
12 Laps
1’35.111
300,8
RET
E. Laverty
Panigale V4 R
18 Laps
1’34.173
304,2
WorldSBK 2019 – Round Two
Chang International Circuit, Buriram
Superbike Race One
WorldSSP
Jules Cluzel takes pole position in Buriram
Pirelli Thai Round saw the Tissot Superpole for the FIM Supersport World Championship take place, with Jules Cluzel (GMT94 YAMAHA) taking his first pole position of the season, his first since Donington Park in 2018. Joining him on the front row, the BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team pairing of Randy Krummenacher and Federico Caricasulo – a reversed front row from the opening round of the year.
Heading row two, Japanese star Hikari Okubo, who achieved his best Tissot Superpole grid position of fourth. His previous best was a fifth, also at Donington Park in 2018. Raffaele De Rosa (MV AGUSTA Reparto Corse) finished in fifth position and will look to stay aboard on Sunday, whilst completing row two was Isaac Viñales (Kallio Racing), his first time in Thailand on a World Supersport bike not a being a poor showing at all.
Row three sees Thomas Gradinger (Kallio Racing) with work to do, especially if he wants to give Austria their first ever podium finish. He lines up ahead of the likes of Hector Barbera (Team Toth by Willirace) and 2017 WorldSSP Champion, Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing). Both Barbera and Mahias struggling throughout the session to set a lap time capable of challenging the front runners. Ayrton Badovini (Team Pedercini Racing) completes the top ten, after his first experience of Thailand in WorldSSP.
Cluzel’s pole position means it is Yamaha’s 75th pole position in the class, whilst it is France’s 74th. Cluzel hasn’t won a race from pole position since Buriram in 2016 and has only won from pole position on four other occasions. Can he change that and give Yamaha their 80th win in WorldSSP?
Pole position – Jules Cluzel (GMT94 YAMAHA)
“I am so pleased about this result. Our rivals have been very quick since the beginning of the season, but it seems that after Australia we have now found the pace to stay with them. I am really happy, and I want to thank my team because they did a good job in every session and I think we have worked well so far and that we are ready to fight for the win. Temperatures here are extremely high, and there are strong competitors, so I expect a hard battle in the race tomorrow”.
First MXD round belongs to Purvis as rain shortens race-day to single motos.
Image: Foremost Media.
DPH Motorsport Husqvarna’s Todd Waters has emerged victorious in the rain-shortened opening round of the 2019 Pirelli MX Nationals at Appin, New South Wales.
It was actually Hayden Mellross (Raceline KTM Thor) who crossed the line first after leading the duration, however an infringement for going off-track resulted in a 10-second penalty that handed the moto and overall to Waters – both on return to racing in Australia this year.
Waters delivered a phenomenal performance on the factory-supported FC 450, recovering from an incident on the opening straight that saw him slice his way through the pack and put himself in the frame for victory. Only 1.449s separated them after Mellross’ penalty was applied.
Behind them came former champion Kirk Gibbs (CDR Yamaha Monster Energy), scoring a strong haul of points to round out the podium, directly ahead of fellow South Australian Brett Metcalfe (Penrite Honda Racing). Further back in fifth was Husqvarna-mounted Jesse Dobson.
American Justin Rodbell (KSF Suzuki) led the opening portion before eventually scoring sixth, leading premier class debutant Tomas Ravenhorst (KTM), Luke Clout (CDR Yamaha Monster Energy), Joben Baldwin (Yamaha) and Cody Dyce (SB Motorsports Ecstar Suzuki), who filled the top 10.
Image: Foremost Media.
In the MX2 moto it was Raceline KTM Thor’s Jy Roberts stole victory from long-time leader Jay Wilson (Yamalube Yamaha Racing) on the final lap to seal the round.
Wilson controlled much of the moto after leading from the opening lap, however it was the fast-finishing Roberts who caught the 2015 champion off-guard in the closing stages. Third was defending champion Wilson Todd (DPH Motorsport Husqvarna).
Isaac Ferguson (KTM) and Riley Dukes (Husqvarna) put forward impressive performances for fourth and P5. Sixth came Nathan Crawford (Serco Yamaha), as Cooper Pozniak (KTM), Dylan Wills (Davey Motorsports KTM), Wyatt Chase (Honda) and Aaron Tanti (Serco Yamaha) who was up-front early on.
Image: Foremost Media.
The first MXD moto of the year belonged to New Zealand’s Maximus Purvis (Bulk Nutrients WBR Yamaha), overcoming Rhys Budd (CRF Honda Racing) and Michael Murphy (KTM) to complete the podium. In fourth was Hugh Roache (KTM), with Caleb Clifton (Honda) fifth.
Early leader Regan Duffy’s debut with Raceline KTM Thor saw him lead in the mid-stages, but eventually dropped down the order to cross the line in position seven, behind Liam Walsh (KTM) in P6. Eighth through 10th were Lochie Smith (Yamaha), Jayce Cosford (Yamaha) and Dale Lyons (KTM).
The next stop for the 2019 Pirelli MX Nationals will be at Wonthaggi, Victoria, in two weeks’ time on 17 March.
Rain-soaked conditions too severe for the 2019 opener to be completed.
Image: Foremost Media.
Williams Event Management (WEM) has cancelled the opening round of the 2019 Pirelli MX Nationals following the opening motos of each category at Appin’s Macarthur Motorcycle Club complex.
Unrelenting rain continues to lash the New South Wales venue, making for a treacherous start to the season and prompting the official decision.
“Obviously it’s a tough day, very, very wet,” WEM’s race promoter Kevin Williams told MotoOnline.com.au. “Everybody travelled a long way and wanted to get a race in, but it’s an expensive sport as it is and the conditions are getting worse.
“This way, everybody gets a moto in and the championship gets underway, but we’ve had to make this decision following the opening motos today. We already had to cancel the YZ65 Cup this morning, but unfortunately this is how it’s turned out.”
The opening round of the season went to Raceline KTM Thor’s Jy Roberts in MX2, while Maximus Purvis (WBR Bulk Nutrients Yamaha) topped MXD and a gritty Todd Waters (DPH Motorsport) won the lone MX1 outing of the weekend this morning.
The opening race of the Pirelli Thai round in the FIM Motul Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) saw Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.It Racing – Ducati) clash on track early on, creating the rivalry everyone wanted to see unfold between the two heavyweight stars.
Bautista was able to get the better of the reigning champion eventually, to take his fourth WorldSBK win. At the line, the Spaniard took the win by 8.2s ahead of the four-time defending champion.
Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK) held on ahead of teammate Michael van der Mark by 0.4s to take his third Buriram podium, while it was Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team) in fifth position.
Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) took his first WorldSSP pole position of the season, his first since Donington Park in 2018. Joining him on the front row, the Bardahl Evan Bros WorldSSP Team pairing of Randy Krummenacher and Federico Caricasulo – a reversed front row from the opening round of the year.
Heading row two, Japanese star Hikari Okubo, who achieved his best superpole grid position of fourth. His previous best was a fifth, also at Donington Park in 2018. Raffaele De Rosa (MV AGUSTA Reparto Corse) finished in fifth position.
Chasing a fast lap, you’re your own worst enemy. Extracting a tenth of a second is a personal battle. Racetrack conditions, suspension settings, and tire compounds are no longer holding you back; it’s just you focused on staying composed in a high-stress, high-speed environment. Every natural instinct itches for inputs to happen sooner and more aggressively. These tendencies are exaggerated in competition like the one I was in at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway.
MotoAmerica Supersport podium finisher Richie Escalante was a few seconds ahead of me. Like any elite-level racer, he rarely puts a wheel wrong. Beating his kind of talent requires raw speed and precision, corner after corner, lap after lap. Even if you have the speed, then you need the patience. I knew all that, but my instincts were out to catch—scratch that—destroy Escalante. Technique and accuracy went out the window, and with them the chance to pass. Eagerness results in mistakes, opening up the gap.
I switched my concentration from his back to my own reference points. From corner entry to exit, I hit my marks in quick succession, piecing together one turn after the next. Escalante was nothing but an object in my peripherals, but once my focus shifted inward, he was an object that was quickly inching closer.
My sole focus was patience for the next lap. I sacrificed late braking to hit my apexes with exactness, and forfeited early throttle application for direct corner exits and more straightway speed. The result? There was no arguing the stopwatch—the fastest 600cc lap ever recorded at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway. Racing is a battle among competitors, but sometimes the fiercest enemy is yourself. Patience is always the secret.
Yamaha have confirmed that Australian MXGP star Dean Ferris will stand-in temporarily for three rounds replacing the injured Romain Febvre.
Romain Febvre was unfortunately unable to finish the first MXGP of the year after a heavy fall in the second race while on the 14th lap of 18. Febvre crashed out of the race in the roller section and sustained a break to his Talus, which is the bone that makes up the lower part of the ankle joint. Febvre was later informed that the injury required surgical intervention.
Romain Febvre celebrating a recent podium finish
Febvre underwent a successful operation on Wednesday 13th of March at the University Antwerp Hospital (UZA). The injury is expected to take six-weeks to heal therefore Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP has called upon Ferris to fill the Frenchman’s seat for the next three rounds of the MXGP World Championship.
Ferris is the current Australian Motocross Champion in the premier class and has been undefeated in the title chase for the last three years. All three titles were won on Yamaha’s popular YZ450F, and in 2018 he put his name in the history books as the first rider to win all 10-rounds of the series.
Dean Ferris
No stranger to the podium or the tracks and venues in Europe, the 28-year-old is relishing the chance to race three rounds of the MXGP World Championship with a Factory YZ450FM as a substitute for Febvre. Having achieved his current goals in Australia, he is now looking for opportunities to compete in other areas of the world and new challenges that will allow him to further hone his skills as a top motocross rider.
Ferris will make his 2019 MXGP debut on the weekend of March 24th at Matterley Basin, in Winchester, England, where he will line up on a Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP YZ450FM for the second round of the FIM Motocross World Championship.
Matterley Basin is the first of three back-to-back MXGP rounds. Ferris will also contest the two rounds that follow. Round three in Valkenswaard, The Netherlands, and round four in Pietramurata, Italy.
Be Wiser Ducati rider Scott Redding pipped Aussie Jason O’Halloran by 0.193 to lead day three of testing and wrap up the final overall combined times at Circuito Monteblanco, where the final day of sessions ended up a Ducati vs Yamaha affair.
The pair had been holding the leading positions on the final day and both riders continued to make improvements towards the end of the day, with O’Halloran closing in on Redding before the Be Wiser Ducati rider made another gain in his time to keep the McAMS Yamaha rider at bay.
O’Halloran Yamaha YZF-R1
Tarran Mackenzie on the second of the McAMS Yamahas overcame his huge high-side crash from yesterday to hold third place; he returned to the track today and improved his pace on the final day as he worked on further improvements with the team.
Glenn Irwin and the Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki continued to work through various winter improvements and he held fourth place on the timesheets, whilst team-mate Ben Currie suffered a heavy crash in the morning so he sat out the remainder of the day.
Xavi Forés continued to impress with Honda Racing as he held fifth and admitted he was impressed with the pace despite missing the chance to have another attack at flying lap in the closing stages of the final day.
Bradley Ray and the Buildbase Suzuki team had worked on further improvements on the areas they struggled with last season, which put him ahead of Honda Racing’s Andrew Irwin who continued to build momentum on his second visit to Monteblanco.
Josh Brookes was eighth fastest on the timesheets, the former champion struggled in the afternoon with sickness which hampered his progress on the final day, but the Australian is confident of the Be Wiser Ducati’s potential.
Luke Mossey maintained his position inside the top ten on his official test debut for OMG Racing Suzuki, holding off hard-charging rookie Ryan Vickers who impressed with a top ten finish on his debut with the RAF Regular and Reserve Kawasaki team.
Victorian Ben Currie did not set any times on the remaining day with his Thursday afternoon session time of 1:38.197 positioning him overall 17th in BSB and some 1.906 off of the combined times leader Scott Redding.
South Australia Billy Mcconnell riding an OMG Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000 was 21st overall and second in the Superstock class trailing leader Richard Cooper by 0.986 with a time of 1:39.527 achieved on the penultimate session on the final day of testing.
BSB will resume testing starting tomorrow in Portimao, Portugal.
The irony is thick here with a name like that. Nonetheless, Erik Buell is back in the two-wheel business, but not how we thought.
Begin press release:
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Round one dominator, Alvaro Bautista steadily improved the Ducati Panigale V4 R settings before consolidating his position as the man to beat with a 1m32.971s lap to top Friday ahead of Jonathan Rea.
Álvaro Bautista – P1
“For sure it’s only Friday, but I’m quite happy because the most important thing was to confirm our potential on a track that is different from Australia. This morning I started to understand the track and the reference markers, which are a little bit different from the MotoGP bike, so I needed some laps to adapt my riding style. Then I just worked on the bike settings without making any big changes, just some adjustments for the set-up on this track. In the afternoon we tried a different type of rear tyre to see what the new compound was like. There were positives and negatives, so we still have to decide for the race tomorrow. The feeling with the Panigale V4 R is good and I’m satisfied with the result of this first day.”
Álvaro Bautista – Image by Geebee
Seven-time Buriram race-winner Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) has an impeccable record in Buriram and will look to retain that mantle come racing on Saturday and Sunday.
Jonathan Rea
“We were building into it this morning and we got off to a good start. Step-by-step we improved the bike and were getting into a rhythm in that second free practice session, where we started to make some steps with set-up. I wanted to do a consistent long run but we had to confirm which tyre we will use for tomorrow, at the front and the rear. In some areas of this track I also want to improve my braking. We found some positives in all that so – putting it together – I felt pretty good out there. We can look at the finer details tonight but already we are on the way.”
Teammate Leon Haslam was one of the biggest improvers in the session, taking just under a second off of his morning time to finish seventh.
Leon Haslam
“I thought I had a good handle on the track after racing here four years ago but it has taken me a little bit of time to get my head around the layout again. We stuck to our strategy and just used one tyre in each session, feeling a good rhythm, but we just need to find a little bit more pace. There is a lot of different tarmac from when I last rode here in 2015, so I am working out where those new bumps are, where it is grippy and where it is not. I am still finding braking points, which is just taking a bit of time. We are chipping away every lap, feeling better and better. It is hot out there but it is the same for everyone.”
Rookie Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) took over as leading Yamaha rider, with a stunning charge to third positionin what is his first visit to Thailand.
Veteran teammate Marco Melandri was firmly inside the top six.
Leading the Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team charge is Alex Lowes, fourth on the combined timesheets.
Eugene Laverty (Team Goeleven) finished in eighth position and as second Ducati rider. The Irishman, who has never managed a race finish better than ninth in Thailand, will hope to translate his pace from today into Saturday’s Tissot Superpole Session.
Britain’s Leon Camier (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) placed ninth on combined times and at one point of the session, had the track to himself, enabling him to put in some fast times and work on race pace.
Leon Camier
“I feel we had a good second session after having spent some time sorting out a few little things with the bike setup this morning. In the afternoon I feel we made some progress, I was feeling much better on my bike and was able to put some good laps together at the end of the session. There a few key areas where we are still losing but we know what these areas are and will keep working to try and improve them. All in all, I think we are not doing a bad job at the moment, but it will be a big fight for sure. Weather conditions are incredible, it’s so hot! The end of the race will be tough for everyone!”
Teammate Ryuichi Kiyonari improved his time but dropped places. The Japanese star was only 16th at the end of Friday’s track action.
Making it five manufacturers inside the top ten, Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was tenth as he continues to develop the new S1000RR. The 2013 WorldSBK champion completed an important 34 laps throughout the day, whilst German teammate Markus Reiterberger finished in 12th position, just 1.3s from Bautista.
Shaun Muir – BMW Team Principal
“FP1 was really good for us today. Tom and Markus both found a good direction, so everything went positive. We had three exits for each rider and all took steps forward so that was promising. In FP2 we had more test items. While we were pretty happy after FP1 we did not make quite the progress we had hoped for in FP2. We went in a different direction with Tom which unfortunately was the wrong way so had to come back, FP3 tomorrow we will hopefully go in a better direction. Markus had some gremlins that cost a bit of time but overall we can’t be too disappointed. We did not use any additional tyres in FP2 so the times that we put in were pretty much on 15 to 20 lap tyres, so overall I am quite happy with that. Regarding our expectations for Superpole, I think the group from third down to tenth is quite tight and is achievable, so to have a top six for Tom and a top nine for Markus would be a realistic target.”
