Pirelli standard soft solutions protagonists of the WorldSBK round in Thailand. Race 2 goes to Chaz Davies on Ducati, in Supersport Randy Krummenacher on Yamaha takes his first win

The standard SC0 solutions on the rear are the most used in both classes, a Sunday of very heated races with several riders taking a turn in the lead

Buriram (Thailand), 25 March 2018 – The day spared no thrills for all the MOTUL FIM World Superbike Championship fans today who were treated to two very heated and spectacular races with no lack of upsets and surprises.

In Race 2 of WorldSBK, after Marco Melandri's double win in the Australian opening round, Ducati was back on the top step of the podium thanks to a performance by Chaz Davies who, after starting from the seventh spot on the grid, managed to move up in the ranks until taking the lead just before the mid-race point and holding onto it until the end. Behind him were the factory Yamaha riders, Michael Van Der Mark and Alex Lowes, completing the Race 2 podium.

In WorldSSP, on the other hand, Swiss rider Randy Krummenacher on Yamaha won his first race ahead of factory Yamaha riders Lucas Mahias and Federico Caricasulo.

In terms of the tyres, the undisputed protagonists of the race weekend were the rear solutions in soft compound brought by Pirelli for both classes. The new standard SC0 slick, making its season début, was very popular and used in both Race 1 and Race 2 by the WorldSBK riders, whereas in the WorldSSP category, the standard grooved solution, also in SC0 compound, was actually chosen by all the riders on the grid. For the front, on the other hand, the SC1 development tyres dominated, respectively the V0952 in Superbike and the V0533 in Supersport.

At the start of Race 2, the Yamaha machines ridden by Alex Lowes and Michael Van Der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) moved ahead to lead the group and the battle for first place was already raging in the third lap between the two factory riders from the Iwata-based manufacturer. Behind them were the Ducatis ridden by Marco Melandri and Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), while Jonathan Rea (WorldSBK Kawasaki Racing Team), Race 1 winner and occupant of the ninth spot on the grid for this race, managed to move into fifth position. The first five riders were all within one second of one another. At the end of the seventh lap, the race lost one of its protagonists: in fact, Tom Sykes was forced to retire due to a technical problem.

In the meantime, as the mid-race point approached, Davies succeeded in getting past Alex Lowes, moving into second place behind Dutchman Van Der Mark and then overtaking him as well on the eighth lap. The satellite team Ducati rider Xavi Forés (Barni Racing Team), second in Race 1, began to move up in the order and, after starting from the eighth spot on the grid, he clawed his way up to fourth behind Lowes. Race 1 winner Jonathan Rea was in difficulty, struggling to fight off the attacks by Marco Melandri to hold onto fifth place. The factory Ducati rider was then forced to yield the position to Leon Camier (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team) who snatched sixth place from him.

In the final laps of the race, Rea managed to move up another position, overtaking Forés, but it was not enough for a podium finish. Finishing first was Welsh Ducati rider ahead of Van Der Mark and Lowes on their Yamaha machines.  

WorldSBK Race 2 standings:

1) C. Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)

2) M. Van Der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team)

3) A. Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team)

4) J. Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)

5) X. Forés (Barni Racing Team)

6) L. Camier (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team)

7) M. Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)

8) T. Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing)

9) L. Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia)

10) P. Jacobsen (TripleM Honda World Superbike Team)

11) Y. Hernandez (Team Pedercini Racing)

12) L. Baz (GULF ALTHEA BMW Racing Team)

13) R. Ramos (Team GoEleven Kawasaki)

14) J. Gagne (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team)

RT) L. Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura)

RT) T. Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)

RT) J. Torres (MV Agusta Reparto Corse)

RT) E. Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia)

RT) O. Jezek (Guandalini Racing)

Race 2 was preceded by the FIM Supersport World Championship race, where Frenchman Lucas Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP team) started from pole position.

However, at the start, the Yamaha riding Frenchman lost the lead to compatriot Jules Cluzel (NRT) who was followed in turn by Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP team). In fourth position behind pole man Mahias was Randy Krummenacher (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team).

During the third lap, Mahias managed to move into second place, overtaking his teammate and chasing down Cluzel in an attempt to take the race lead. The first four riders were within a gap of less than nine tenths of one another. At the end of the eighth lap, coming out of the last turn before the finish line, Mahias succeeded in his attempt and, overtaking Cluzel, regained the race lead. However, the team NRT Frenchman did not let him get away and on the tenth lap he was able to overtake him again. On the following lap, the other private Yamaha rider, Randy Krummenacher (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) also made a pass to get by Federico Caricasulo, moving into third position.

During the thirteenth lap, race leader Cluzel crashed out, ending up in the gravel and leaving the door wide open for Mahias and Krummenacher. In the end it was Swiss rider Randy Krummenacher who finished first after making contact coming out of the final corner with Mahias, who finished second. Third place went to the other factory Yamaha rider, Federico Caricasulo.

WorldSSP standings:

1) R. Krummenacher (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team)

2) L. Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP team)

3) F. Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP team)

4) S. Cortese (Kallio Racing)

5) T. Warokorn (CORE Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team)

6) A. West (EAB antwest Racing)

7) R. De Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse by Vamag)

8) R. Wilairot (Yamaha Thailand Racing Team)

9) N. Tuuli (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda)

10) L. Stapleford (Profile Racing)

11) T. Gradinger (NRT)

12) J. Kennedy (Profile Racing)

13) D. Kraisart (Yamaha Thailand Racing Team)

14) L. Cresson (Kallio Racing)

15) A. Badovini (MV Agusta Reparto Corse by Vamag)

16) A. Kamaruzaman (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing)

17) H. Soomer (Racedays)

18) M. Di Meglio (GMT94 Yamaha)

19) H. Okubo (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing)

20) A. Irwin (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda)

21) J. Van Sikkelerus (GEMAR Team Lorini)

22) T. Collins (Team GoEleven Kawasaki)

RT) J. Cluzel (NRT)

RT) K. Smith (GEMAR Team Lorini)

RT) L. Epis (Team GoEleven Kawasaki)

RT) N. Calero (Orelac Racing VerdNatura)

The Pirelli solutions chosen by the riders for WorldSBK Race 2 and WorldSSP:

In Race 2, most of the riders substantially confirmed the choices they had made yesterday for Race 1.

On the rear, half of them opted for the standard SC0 (option A) and the other half went with the W0576 SC0 development solution (option B), whereas on the front, the standard SC2 (option D) gained more favour than it had in Race 1 and, along with the V0952 SC1 development tyre (option C), preferences were divided between the riders on the grid.

Making changes on the rear was only Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) who, as the other Ducati riders had already done in Race 1, switched from the development SC0 to go with the standard tyre. For the front, on the other hand, the six riders who made changes (Sykes, Van Der Mark, Torres, Razgatlioglu, Mercado e Jacobsen) either went from the V0952 SC1 development tyre to the standard SC2 or, as was the case for Sykes and Van Der Mark, vice versa.

In the WorldSSP race, the riders made very similar choices. On the rear, they all used the standard SC0 (option A), whereas for the front, 19 out of the 26 riders on the grid opted for the V0533 SC1 development solution (option C). Only 5 chose the W0378 SC1 tyre (option B), whereas the remaining two used the standard SC1 (option A).

Pirelli statistics for WorldSBK Race 2:

• Winner of the PIRELLI BEST LAP AWARD: Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati),in 1'33.627 at the 11^th lap

• Most used front solution: development SC2 V0952 (11 out of 19 riders)

• Most used rear solution: standard SC0 (10 out of 19 riders)

• Maximum race speed reached by Pirelli DIABLO™ Superbike tyres: 305,1 km/h, achieved by Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) in the 5^th lap and by Jordi Torres (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) in the 3^rd lap

• Number of solutions (dry, intermediate and wet) for the WorldSBK class: 6 front and 6 rear

Number of tyres available for each Superbike rider: 75, including 40 front and 35 rear

• Air temperature: 33° C

• Asphalt temperature: 49° C

Pirelli statistics for WorldSSP race:

• Winner of the PIRELLI BEST LAP AWARD: Randy Krummenacher (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team), in 1'37.620 in the 11^th lap

• Most used front solution: development SC1 V0533 (19 out of 26 riders)

• Most used rear solution: standard SC0 (26 out of 26 riders)

• Maximum race speed reached by Pirelli DIABLO™ Supercorsa tyres: 270 km/h, achieved by Loris Cresson (Kallio Racing) in the 2^nd lap

• Number of solutions (dry, intermediate and wet) for the WorldSSP class: 5 front and 4 rear

Number of tyres available for each WorldSSP rider: 47, including 26 front and 21 rear

• Air temperature: 34° C

• Asphalt temperature: 52° C