In WorldSBK the fourth win for Rea on his Kawasaki, Caricasulo takes the WorldSSP race; textbook performance for the Pirelli standard tyres with asphalt temperatures above 60°C

Double win for the Northern Irishman from the Akashi-based manufacturer after a heated race with Ducati rider Marco Melandri, in WorldSSP three Yamaha riders on the podium; the Pirelli standard SC0 compound tyres stand up to the Thai heat

Buriram (Thailand), 12 March 2017 – The second round of the MOTUL FIM World Superbike Championship held in Thailand at the Chang International Circuit ended with a win for Jonathan Rea in Race 2 of WorldSBK and success for Federico Caricasulo in WorldSSP.
Pirelli received confirmation in the WorldSBK class today, where all the riders confirmed the solutions that had already seen action yesterday in Race 1, as well as excellent feedback on the solutions used in WorldSSP. In any case the rear tyres that were the protagonists of the weekend in both categories were the standard SC0 soft solutions, respectively the DIABLO™ Superbike e DIABLO™ Supercorsa, in other words, tyres that are sold regularly on the market and available for purchase by any biker all over the world.
 
In the WorldSBK Race 2, despite starting from the ninth spot on the grid and a race red-flagged after a few laps, resulting in the group being packed together again, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) was still unbeatable, taking the fourth win out of four races held so far this season.
In WorldSSP, a race that was held with a 65°C asphalt temperature, it was a Yamaha hat trick with a very nice win for Italian rider, Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP team) ahead of wild card and hometown hero Decha Kraisart (Yamaha Thailand Racing Team) and Niki Tuuli (Kallio Racing).
 
In Race 2 of WorldSBK, Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) started from pole position, while Race 1 winner, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) started from the ninth spot on the grid. The race was thrilling from the start with Chaz Davies crashing out in the third lap. In the meantime, Rea began his comeback and already in the fifth lap he was behind race leader Marco Melandri, with Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) behind them. However, Rea soon launched an attack on the Italian Ducati rider, snatching the lead from him.
Unfortunately, in the sixth lap the red flag came out after a crash by Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia) and the race was stopped. At the restart, there were sixteen laps to go with Rea on pole ahead of Marco Melandri in second position and Alex Lowes in third, followed by all the rest.
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) managed to overtake Alex Lowes almost straight away, moving into third position.
It would be Jonathan Rea passing under the chequered flag first, followed by his teammate, Tom Sykes who managed to overtake Melandri on the last corner of the last lap, relegating the Italian to a third place finish.
 
WorldSBK Race 2 standings:
 
1) J. Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team)
2) T. Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team)
3) M. Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
4) A. Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team)
5) J. Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team)
6) C. Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
7) N.Hayden (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team)
8) X. Forés (BARNI Racing Team)
9) R. Ramos (Team Kawasaki GoEleven)
10) M. Reiterberger (Althea BMW Racing Team)
11) A. De Angelis (Pedercini Racing SC-Project)
12) R. Russo (Guandalini Racing)
13) O. Jezek (Grillini Racing Team)
14) A. Badovini (Grillini Racing Team)
15) E. Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia)
RT) L. Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse)
RT) R. Krummenacher (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing)
RT) S. Bradl (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team)
RT) M. Van Der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team)
 
At 2:30 PM local time, the second race of the FIM Supersport World Championship season took place with seventeen laps to race for a total of 88.418 kilometres. Honda riding Frenchman Jules Cluzel (CIA Landford Insurance Honda) was on pole position, having won the Superpole® on Saturday with a time of 1’37.683.
Cluzel started well, but the hometown hero, wild card Polamai (Yamaha Thailand Racing Team), did not let him get away and at the beginning of the second lap he overtook, managing to move into first position.
In the third lap, Patrick Jacobsen (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) had technical problems and was forced to retire, whereas Polamai, who was leading the race, crashed out to end his race early. This placed Cluzel back in the lead, followed by Gamarino, second, and Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP team), third. Unfortunately, during the fifth lap the race lost two more protagonists, first Lucas Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP team) and then Christian Gamarino (BARDAHL EVAN BROS. Honda Racing).
From midrace it was a battle between Cluzel, Caricasulo and the other hometown hero, Thai rider Decha Kraisart (Yamaha Thailand Racing Team), to decide the podium positions. The upset came in the twelfth round when Jules Cluzel was forced to retire due to engine failure with his Honda.
It was three Yamahas leading the race with Caricasulo out front, followed by wild card Kraisart and Niki Tuuli (Kallio Racing). In the finale it was a battle between Caricasulo and Kraisart for the top step of the podium and in the meantime, Kyle Smith managed to overtake Tuuli and move into third position. In the final lap, Smith was also able to overtake Kraisart, but he was disqualified with a black flag. Winning the race was Italian rider, Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP team) ahead of Decha Kraisart (Yamaha Thailand Racing Team) and Niki Tuuli (Kallio Racing).
 
WorldSSP standings:
 
1) F. Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP team)
2) D. Kraisart (Yamaha Thailand Racing Team)
3) N. Tuuli (Kallio Racing)
4) T. Warokorn (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing)
5) K. Ryde (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing)
6) H. Okubo (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda)
7) S. Morais (Kallio Racing)
8) A. Wagner (GEMAR Team Lorini)
9) K. Watanabe (Team Kawasaki Go Eleven)
10) R. Mulhauser (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda)
11) R. Rolfo (Team Factory Vamag)
12) L. Epis (Response RE Racing)
13) N. Calero (Orelac Racing VerdNatura)
14) D. Pizzoli (Race Department ATK#25)
RT) M. Canducci (Puccetti Racing Junior Team FMI)
RT) J. Cluzel (CIA Landford Insurance Honda)
RT) C. Gamarino (BARDAHL EVAN BROS. Honda Racing)
RT) L. Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP team)
RT) C. Polamai (Yamaha Thailand Racing Team)
RT) P. Jacobsen (MV Agusta Reparto Corse)
RT) Z. Khairuddin (Orelac Racing VerdNatura)
EX) K. Smith (GEMAR Team Lorini)
EX) G. Rea (Team Kawasaki Go Eleven)
 
 
The Pirelli solutions chosen by the riders for WorldSBK Race 2 and WorldSSP:
 
In Race 2 of WorldSBK, the riders substantially confirmed the choices they had made for Race 1 on Saturday. For the rear, therefore, given the high temperatures once again today, all the riders stayed on the standard SC0 (option A) that had already guaranteed excellent performance in Race 1.
On the front, the standard SC2 (option C) remained, as yesterday, the most used solution, having gained the favour of almost all the riders.
Compared with the race yesterday, the only rider to change the front tyre was Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), who went from the S1699 SC1 development solution to the standard SC1 that his teammate, Marco Melandri had already chosen.
 
In the WorldSSP race, the choices were similar to the WorldSBK situation, where all the riders opted for the standard soft solution, the SC0 (option A) for the rear, whereas for the front, most of them chose to use the V0533 SC1 development solution (option B) which, compared with the standard SC1, has a harder compound that gives it characteristics more similar to a standard SC2.
 
 
Pirelli statistics for WorldSBK Race 2:
 
• Winner of the PIRELLI BEST LAP AWARD: Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing -Ducati),in 1'33.644at the 3^rd lap
 
• Most used front solution: standard SC2 (15 out of 20 riders)
 
• Most used rear solution: standard SC0 (20 out of 20 riders)
 
• Maximum race speed reached by Pirelli DIABLO™ Superbike tyres: 305.9 km/h, achieved by Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) in the 3^rd lap
 
• Number of solutions (dry, intermediate and wet) for the Superbike class: 5 front and 4 rear
 
Number of tyres available for each Superbike rider: 62, including 33 front and 29 rear
 
• Air temperature: 36° C
 
• Asphalt temperature: 60° C
 
 
Pirelli statistics for WorldSSP race:
 
• Winner of the PIRELLI BEST LAP AWARD: Christian Gamarino (BARDAHL EVAN BROS. Honda Racing),in 1'38.721 in the 2^nd lap
 
• Most used front solution: development SC1 V0533 (16 out of 23 riders)
 
• Most used rear solution: standard SC0 (23 out of 23 riders)
 
• Maximum race speed reached by Pirelli DIABLO™ Supercorsa tyres: 268.7 km/h, achieved by Niki Tuuli (Kallio Racing) in the 6^th lap
 
• Number of solutions (dry, intermediate and wet) for the WorldSSP class: 4 front and 4 rear
 
Number of tyres available for each WorldSSP rider: 42, including 21 front and 21 rear
 
• Air temperature: 37° C
 
• Asphalt temperature: 65° C