The opening race of the FIM Superbike World Championship weekend at the Chang International Circuit in #thailand saw Pata #yamaha Official #worldsbk Team riders #michaelvandermark and #alexlowes finish fifth and sixth respectively on their YZF-R1s, earning good points once again as they did during the opening round in Australia. With the second race of the Thai weekend to come on Sunday 12thMarch both Alex and Michael will have another chance to add to their points totals very soon.
After Lowes had qualified fourth in Superpole 2, and van der Mark sixth, both team and riders knew that today's opening 20-lap race offered possibilities to score well.
Van der Mark took his opportunity to record his best result of the year, fifth place, after 20-laps in which he had to pass his team-mate early in the race and then concentrate through the hot conditions to bring it home just over three seconds from a podium finish.
Lowes, not feeling quite as comfortable on his machine as his team-mate in this particular race, was a clear sixth; over 11 seconds ahead of the rider in seventh place.
As was the case in Australia, the new championship rules governing the grid for race two will change the starting positions for many riders, including Lowes and van der Mark on Sunday. Michael will now start second on the grid and Alex third, with the race one podium finishers now relegated to the third row.
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