[WSBK] Buriram Race 1: Johnny Rea resists well, but Álvaro Bautista wins

After the royal, majestic and imperial hat-trick of His Majesty Álvaro Bautista at Phillip Island, on the brand new Ducati V4 R designed by the genius Dall'Igna, it must be admitted that Kawasaki took a big slap in Australia, which was not what it was supposed to do. hasn't arrived for a long time.

To Guim Roda, the boss of the KRT, “ I think after Assen (Editor’s note: April 14) we will have much more information, we will know where we stand and how the new regulation affects us. From there we will see how to approach the second part of the season ". This means that after the first 3 rounds where the engine speeds are legally limited, a return to a fairer level (provided for by the regulations) will equalize everyone's chances. Or at least will prevent the Ducati (16 revs max) from dominating the Kawasaki (350) too much.

According to his opponent Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), “ Australia was a dream weekend, I couldn't ask for a better WorldSBK debut. I had a good result in Thailand last year in MotoGP (Editor’s note: 8th, 6 seconds behind the winner Marc Márquez). So I'm confident, but Buriram is a track that has different characteristics from the Phillip Island circuit, with more mixed sectors. We are going to Thailand with the same state of mind as in Australia. I now have a good feeling with the machine, so I will try to prove it here. The Panigale V4 R un is a completely new motorcycle and the potential is high, but we still have work to do to exploit it 100%. I don't know if Buriram is a circuit for Ducati or not, we'll just see how it goes ».

But it would take a lot more to lower the morale of Johnny Rea, angry like a Northern Irishman, who declared “Last year, we left Australia very late on Melandri. We were quite dejected, and yet we won the title by almost 200 points, recalls the Kawasaki rider. If I was beaten, it didn't matter and I kept working and working. I love running, it stimulates me. For the moment, there is a lot of talk about Álvaro but we still have to wait for a few races, it's when we arrive in Europe that we can get a clear idea of ​​the level.

“I am aware of the enthusiasm generated by the rivalry between me and Álvaro, but we only faced each other over one race weekend! When I think about my career, in terms of competition, he's not what comes to mind. Ever since I was at Kawasaki, and even when I was at Honda, Chaz Davies has always been one of my biggest rivals. With him, there were sparks on and off the track “, recalls Rea.

It is also necessary to monitor closely alex lowes et Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team). The Briton finished all but one race on the Thai track and was always among the top seven. “ Buriram is still a great place to ride WorldSBKhe says. It's an interesting place to visit, very different from Europe, and the people are both passionate and welcoming. The Chang International Circuit is not that technical; the first part is based on speed while the second is more winding, each turn conditioning the next. After a strong start in Australia, I look forward to continuing my momentum and fighting for the podium in all three races in Thailand. It's going to be hot and humid, which always makes things difficult, but it's something I love. "

Michael van der Mark is the only one with Jonathan Rea to have a pole position in Thailand. The Dutchman, who lines up at the start of his 106th WorldSBK race this Saturday, is determined to do better than second place. “ I can't wait to race this weekend in Thailand, rejoices van der Mark. I finished second in the second heat last year and Alex was also on the podium. So I’m excited to come back to Thailand. It's a completely different circuit to Phillip Island, but it's one that I've always enjoyed, especially in front of the passionate and enthusiastic Thai fans. »

The side of Moriwaki Althea Honda Team, Leon Camier explained that “ Before heading to Buriram, we attended a Honda event in Bangkok and experienced tremendous support from our fans, a real boost for us as we prepare for the next step, which will be challenging. The Buriram track is actually simple, with a few hard braking points and sharp turns, but at the same time it makes things difficult, as every tenth can make a big difference. The temperature also makes things difficult of course. Air temperatures near 40 degrees and track temperatures in the mid 50s make things very difficult for us drivers, physically and mentally. »

For his Japanese teammate Ryuichi Kiyonari, « It was a pleasure to meet many fans at the Honda Big Wing venue in Bangkok. It was really fun and I look forward to doing my best this weekend. I like the Buriram circuit and the layout is quite quick to learn, with two long straights, a few hard braking points and a few slow corners. With my riding style, I particularly like tight turns. That said, it's a difficult track to set good times. Temperatures will be another challenge of course, not so much for the bike and tires but for the rider ».

When first day of free practice, Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was ahead of Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki ZX-10RR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) by 0.2 and Sandro Cortese (Yamaha YZF R1 GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) by 0.4, followed by Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team and Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) at 0.5.

On the occasion of the Superpole, Álvaro Bautista took pole position in 1'31.912 (new record) and preceded on the first row Johnny Rea at 0.4 and Alex Lowes at 0.5. Sandro Cortese fourth made up the second row with Leon Haslam and Tom Sykes. On the third row, Marco Melandri (already 1.090) preceded Eugene Laverty and Chaz Davies.

The air temperature was 35°, that of the track 49° (Pirelli source) and everyone cooled off as best they could:

Jordi Torres used his own technique:

The fastest at the start was Johnny Rea in front Álvaro Bautista, Tom Sykes, Alex Lowes, Leon Haslam, Sandro Cortese and Chaz Davies. Rea retained command ahead of Bautista and Lowes. The Spaniard easily closed on the Northern Irishman in the two long straights thanks to the superior power of his Panigale. Lowes was having a little trouble keeping up.

Bautista passed Rea inside, who immediately passed him a little harshly.

Rea even opened up a gap of more than a second (1.090) ahead of Lowes at 1.8, van der Mark at 2.6 and Haslam at 3.6. Tom Sykes was 9th with his BMW at 5.8. Eugene Laverty fell without gravity and gave up.

Rea lost some time on Bautista, who trailed him by 0.2 with 13 laps remaining. Lowes was fighting for third place more than 4 seconds behind with van der Mark, Haslam and Melandri.

Bautista attacked with determination (and much greater power) and took the lead again, while his teammate Chaz Davies fell without seriousness. At mid-race, Bautista sent a very clear message 1'32.724 with the best time in the race on the tenth lap. Jonathan Rea tried to maintain the slipstream but quickly found himself at 0.7.

The third step on the podium was the subject of a great fight between Lowes, van der Mark, Melandri and Haslam. Sykes 9th was 15 seconds behind on his BMW, and Camier 13th at 21 on his Honda.

Bautista's lead over Rea was only 2.2 with 6 laps remaining, much less than the last race at Phillip Island. However, Buriram includes much longer straight lines. Lowes for example was third, but 11 seconds behind, along with van der Mark, Haslam and Melandri. Jonathan Rea cut his effort 5 laps from the end and was content with second position then 5 seconds behind.

Bautista finally won by a wide margin ahead of Rea, Lowes, van der Mark, Haslam, Melandri, Cortese and Melandri.

Race 1 Results:

Provisional classification of the Superbike World Championship:

Video: The 2019 World Superbike riders

2019 new Moriwaki Althea Honda Team WorldSBK launch promo video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdgrlEamxqk

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