2018 Thailand World Superbike Results | Race Recaps (Video)

2018 Thailand World Superbike Results Kawasaki's Jonathan Rea
Kawasaki's Jonathan Rea

2018 Thailand World Superbike Results from Chang International Circuit

Two rounds, four races and three winners.

That’s the situation so far in the 2018 World Superbike Championship after the Motul Thai round at Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand.

All eyes were Kawasaki Racing Team’s Jonathan Rea during the opening round of 2018 WorldSBK at Phillip Island as the Ninja ZX-10R began chasing a fourth-straight SBK title.

But Rea didn’t secure any wins; he finished fifth and second. Doubling at the opening round was Aruba.it Racing Ducati’s Marco Melandri.

2018 Thailand World Superbike Results Kawasaki's Jonathan Rea
Kawasaki’s Jonathan Rea

Rea was looking for redemption, and he found it quickly Saturday during round two at Thailand SBK; the Northern Irishman claimed pole, and won race one. Joining him on the race 1 podium were Barni Racing Ducati’s Xavi Fores and Aruba.it Racing Ducati’s Chaz Davies.

Come Sunday, though, Rea struggled in race two, finishing just off the podium. Taking the victory was Davies, who dominated the 20-lap race. The Welshman finished over two seconds ahead of the Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team duo of Michael van der Mark and Alex Lowes, respectively.

Regardless of taking fourth in race two, Rea claimed enough points to take over the championship lead. He now has 69 points, two ahead of Melandri and nine ahead of Fores.

Speaking after race 2, Jonathan Rea said: “I think my problem today must have been a similar problem to Tom yesterday. It is what it is. After a very difficult Phillip Island we can go away from here with a first and a fourth, and leading the championship, so it was not a disaster.

“I am frustrated but with a smile on my face because at least the bike was good and this is the worst track for brakes. Everyone is pushing really hard so when the going gets tough the tough get going. I felt like today I could have fought for the win again, but it is what it is.”

As for Davies, he is fourth in the title chase, 12 behind Rea.

2018 Thailand World Superbike Results Ducati's Chaz Davies
Ducati’s Chaz Davies

After his win, Chaz Davies said: “It was a fantastic race, something special. To come away with a win here makes me so happy. At Buriram we’ve always struggled in the past, it’s been a long process to get into a race winning position.

“I want to thank the whole team because they’ve given me such a great bike today. The Panigale R was working really well, we found a little bit more consistency and I could be more adaptable with the bike. It was quite hectic out there but, if you can get through it OK, it’s so much fun. Our package is competitive and in Europe it will be like starting from zero. I’m looking forward to Aragon.”

The WSBK series now breaks for three weeks ahead of round 3 of 13 at Motorland Aragon in Spain.

Following are the official race recaps from WorldSBK:

2018 Thailand World Superbike Results, Race 1 Recap

Rea took an excellent victory in Race One of the Motul Thai Round, continuing a dominant weekend that has now seen him take pole position, a race win and fastest lap. The 3-times World Champion certainly didn’t have things all his own way, with Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), who was narrowly pipped for pole position in Superpole 1, twice overhauling his teammate to hit the front. But when Rea finally repaid the compliment he was able to stretch away and then manage his advantage to the finish.

Sykes, meanwhile, dropped gradually backwards as the race went on. He was unfortunate to slip from third to first as Rea took command at the front of the peleton, Leon Camier (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team) coming through and running second for some time, and Sykes eventually only able to manage sixth.

Camier, meanwhile, was one of the stars of the show, as he put in a masterclass in defensive riding and for some time looked set to end a barren run with a first podium finish since 2013. In the end he lost out to Davies, who made a perfect block pass for his second podium of the campaign. But Camier, with fourth position, has the consolation of pole start when the grid positions are re-set for race 2.

2018 Thailand World Superbike Results Ducati Xavi Fores
Ducati’s Xavi Fores

After a disappointing Tissot Superpole performance and fall, Australia’s double winner Melandri rose to fifth position by the end of the opening lap but steadily dropped back to eighth despite showing inconsistently strong pace. Victory for Jonathan Rea means Melandri retains the Championship lead, but the Italian’s advantage is cut to just two points.

Meanwhile Fores, with an excellent runner-up result, moves above Tom Sykes and into third position in the series overall. The independent runner passed Sykes on the track into turn three for a provisional place on the race podium, and picked off Leon Camier on lap twelve to secure his best result in 69 starts.

The lineup’s other main Spaniard, Jordi Torres (MV Agusta Reparto Corse), faded quickly after a strong qualifying, ran wide and off the circuit whilst seventh and was later passed on the penultimate lap for ninth by Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia).

The same lap saw Lows take fifth position from Sykes, completing an excellent second half of the race in which he recovered from eighth. Lowes had earlier enjoyed another side-by-side combat with his teammate Van Der Mark, before the Dutchman slipped back to seventh.

With the top 10 separated by just eleven seconds in Race 1, and plenty of change in the rankings compared to results last time out in Australia, Race Two promises to be a similarly entertaining affair.

2018 Thailand World Superbike Results, Race 2 Recap

In an unpredictable second race, Davies surged through the field to take a 28th career victory and a first around the Chang International Circuit, becoming a third different winner in the opening two weekends of the 2018 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship.

Davies produced a stunning ride with an average gain of a position per lap over a seven-lap period, hitting the front by the end of lap eight and controlling the race from there.

Taking advantage of the reverse grid format, it was the Pata Yamaha duo of Van Der Mark and Lowes who made the early break, but as they squabbled among themselves the remainder of the pack stayed in touch.

Lowes was the second of three riders to lead a lap on the Chang International Circuit as he passed teammate Van Der Mark on lap two, but the Dutchman came back through and led for the next five laps. Eventually both overhauled by Davies the Yamaha pair nonetheless did enough to secure second and third positions, the first double podium for Yamaha since 2016. Lowes, in particular, was satisfied with an extra surge of pace in the seven closing laps that helped him to claim an eighth career podium.

2018 Thailand World Superbike Results Yamaha Team Michael van der Mark and Alex Lowes
Yamaha’s Michael van der Mark and Alex Lowes

Kawasaki’s unbroken record of victories at the Motul Thai Round was finally ended on a day where neither of their top performers could make it on to the podium at all. Sykes failed to take advantage of his front row grid slot, dropping back to ninth by the end of the opening lap and eventually retiring from the race.

Rea, meanwhile, finished just three seconds from the podium places after an action-packed ride. Following an excellent first lap that saw him surge through from ninth to fourth with a series of aggressive inside overtaking moves, Rea had put himself among the favorites for victory and threatened to make it back-to-back wins.

But the Race One victor struggled in handlebar-to-handlebar combat, making a series of errors that ruled him out of contention for the win. His first duel was with Melandri, a shadow of the rider that looked in command in Philip Island, and the pair swapped positions on no less than five occasions before Rea eventually came out on top.

By the time Rea passed Melandri on lap nine and then shook the Italian off, Fores had overhauled the pair of them to move clear in fourth. But Rea in clear air was a different proposition to the rider who had struggled under side-by-side pressure earlier on, and he hunted down the lead independent rider before an overtake on lap eighteen.

Upon reflection, despite not being the result he would have hoped for, Rea’s fightback to fourth could prove critical in the Championship Standings overall. Melandri, series leader coming into Race Two, had another disastrous race in which he was relegated to seventh and never looked comfortable on the bike.

And Fores, who had looked set to close on both Rea and Melandri in the Championship Standings and leave the three separated by just five points, conceded fourth place three laps from the finish to change the complexion of the series standings. With the riders of him in the race well adrift of him overall, Rea becomes the Championship leader and the man with the momentum as the highest scorer of the series´ top three for a second race in succession.

Meanwhile three of the top ten in the points coming into Race Two failed to finish. Sykes retired with mechanical problems after seven completed laps, and therefore drops 26-points back from the leader and down to seventh overall.

Retirement for Laverty and Torres was more spectacular, the pair coming together on lap five when dicing over eighth place: both riders will now arrive to Europe next month out of the top ten in the Championship leaderboard.

Toprak Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was the rider to take advantage in Thailand, finishing best of the rest in eighth ahead of Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia), who did well to nurse his injured shoulder into the top 10 in the race.

2018 Thailand World Superbike Race 1 Results

Pos. Rider Time
1 Jonathan Rea 31’24.203
2 Xavi Fores 00’01.550
3 Chaz Davies 00’02.118
4 Leon Camier 00’02.981
5 Alex Lowes 00’07.258
6 Tom Sykes 00’07.501
7 Michael van der Mark 00’08.500
8 Marco Melandri 00’10.184
9 Eugene Laverty 00’11.072
10 Jordi Torres 00’11.178
11 Loris Baz 00’24.062
12 Lorenzo Savadori 00’24.632
13 Leandro Mercado 00’26.114
14 Román Ramos 00’26.142
15 Toprak Razgatlioglu 00’26.320

 

2018 Thailand World Superbike Race 2 Results

Pos. Rider Time
1 Chaz Davies 31’23.406
2 Michael van der Mark 00’02.185
3 Alex Lowes 00’03.884
4 Jonathan Rea 00’06.554
5 Xavi Fores 00’08.973
6 Leon Camier 00’10.647
7 Marco Melandri 00’17.523
8 Toprak Razgatlioglu 00’21.618
9 Lorenzo Savadori 00’25.345
10 Patrick Jacobsen 00’27.076
11 Yonny Hernandez 00’28.668
12 Loris Baz 00’29.004
13 Román Ramos 00’30.434
14 Jake Gagne 00’30.527