eni FIM Superbike World Championship
Chang International Circuit, Thailand
March 21, 2015
Superpole Results (all on Pirelli tires):
Superpole One Results (top two advance to Superpole Two):
1. Leandro Mercado, Argentina (Ducati Panigale R), 1:34.862
2. Michael VD Mark, Netherlands (Honda CBR1000RR SP), 1:35.073
3. Sylvain Barrier, France (BMW S1000RR), 1:35.115
4. Nico Terol, Spain (Ducati Panigale R), 1:35.255
5. Leon Camier, UK (MV Agusta F4), 1:35.267
6. Randy De Puniet, France (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:35.578
7. Roman Ramos, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:36.226
8. Niccolo Canepa, Italy (EBR 1190RX), 1:36.466
9. Christophe Ponsson, France (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:36.788
10. Santiago Barragan, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:37.536
Superpole Two Results:
1. Jonathan Rea, UK (Kawasaki), 1:33.382
2. Leon Haslam, UK (Aprilia RSV4 RF), 1:33.393
3. Alex Lowes, UK (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:33.738
4. Tom Sykes, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:33.841
5. Jordi Torres, Spain (Aprilia RSV4 RF), 1:34.080
6. Chaz Davies, UK (Ducati Panigale R), 1:34.084
7. Troy Bayliss, Australia (Ducati Panigale R), 1:34.334
8. Michael VD Mark, Netherlands (Honda CBR1000RR SP), 1:34.514
9. Sylvain Guintoli, France (Honda CBR1000RR SP), 1:34.562
10. Leandro Mercado, Argentina (Ducati Panigale R), 1:34.674
11. David Salom, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:34.961
12. Matteo Baiocco, Italy (Ducati Panigale R), 1:35.024
Final Combined Qualifying Results:
1. Jonathan Rea, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:33.382
2. Leon Haslam, UK (Aprilia RSV4 RF), 1:33.393
3. Alex Lowes, UK (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:33.738
4. Tom Sykes, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:33.841
5. Jordi Torres, Spain (Aprilia RSV4 RF), 1:34.080
6. Chaz Davies, UK (Ducati Panigale R), 1:34.084
7. Troy Bayliss, Australia (Ducati Panigale R), 1:34.334
8. Michael VD Mark, Netherlands (Honda CBR1000RR SP), 1:34.514
9. Sylvain Guintoli, France (Honda CBR1000RR SP), 1:34.562
10. Leandro Mercado, Argentina (Ducati Panigale R), 1:34.674
11. David Salom, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:34.961
12. Matteo Baiocco, Italy (Ducati Panigale R), 1:35.024
13. Sylvain Barrier, France (BMW S1000RR), 1:35.115
14. Nico Terol, Spain (Ducati Panigale R), 1:35.255
15. Leon Camier, UK (MV Agusta F4), 1:35.267
16. Randy De Puniet, France (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 1:35.578
17. Roman Ramos, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:36.226
18. Niccolo Canepa, Italy (EBR 1190RX), 1:36.466
19. Christophe Ponsson, France (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:36.788
20. Santiago Barragan, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:37.536
21. Anucha Nakcharoensri, Thailand (Honda CBR1000RR), 1:38.174
22. Greg Gildenhuys, South Africa (Kawasaki ZX-10R), 1:38.767
23. Larry Pegram, USA (EBR 1190RX), 1:38.772
24. Imre Toth, Hungary (BMW S1000RR), 1:39.256
25. Ireneusz Sikora, Poland (BMW S1000RR), 1:40.719
26. Chanon Chumjai, Thailand (BMW S1000RR), 1:40.810
More, from a press release issued by Dorna WSBK Press Office:
Rea takes Tissot-Superpole in Thailand
The Ulsterman snatches pole position from Haslam by 0.011s
The first-ever Pole Position in the history of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship in Thailand went to Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team), who came out on top of an exciting final 15-minute shoot-out that decided the grid for tomorrow’s two 20-lap races. Today’s result marks the sixth Pole Position of his career.
Superpole 2 was once again all action from start to finish with riders able to manage two flying laps on the softer Pirelli tyre without any issue. This provided some nervous moments for the teams but pure excitement for the packed grandstand along both straights, as it was not clear when the ultimate top time would occur.
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) was the first to throw down the gauntlet with the fastest lap of the weekend, the first ever sub 1.34s lap of the Chang International Circuit. Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) almost bettered it with his first flying lap before a mistake on his next lap ruined any chance he had at that point of the session.
As the chequered flag was waved signalling the end of qualifying it was joint championship leaders and former team mates Rea and Haslam that came out on top, the pair separated by 0.011s. The Kawasaki rider notched up his second consecutive Pole Position after taking top spot in Australia.
Alongside the front two Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) completes the front row with Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team), Jordi Torres (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) and Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team) making up row two ahead of Troy Bayliss (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team, Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Superbike), and Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Honda World Superbike Team).
Today’s grid sees the first seven riders classified covered by less than one second, with five manufacturers represented in the top-eight places on the grid.
In Superpole 1, Leandro Mercado (Barni Racing Team) and Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) were split by 0.211s, the pair claiming the first 2 positions in the session and progressing to join the already seeded top ten riders for the final qualifying session to determine the top 12 riders on the grid.
Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia) was on course to make it through but made a small mistake in the final corner on his final lap. He will start both races tomorrow from 13th just ahead of Nico Terol (Althea Racing Ducati) and Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) who will join him on the fifth row.
Race 1 tomorrow is scheduled to start at 3pm local time.
More, from a press release issued by Pata Honda:
Third row starts in Thailand for Pata Honda duo
Pata Honda riders Michael van der Mark and Sylvain Guintoli will both start from the third row of the grid for tomorrow’s two second round World Superbike championship races at Buriram in Thailand.
Van der Mark set the seventh fastest time in Superpole with a lap of 1m34.514s while his Pata Honda team-mate will line up next to him on the grid after posting the eighth fastest lap, just five hundredths of a second slower, at 1m34.562s.
With temperatures slightly cooler for today’s proceedings, most of Free Practice 3 this morning was lost to rain, restricting track time for the riders on their CBR machines.
However, the warmer weather is expected to return for tomorrow’s two 20-lap races at the 4.554km Chang International circuit.
Michael van der Mark – P8, 1m34.514s
I’m quite happy today. We missed 45 minutes of practice this morning and I wasn’t able to improve the time so I went directly into Superpole 1. But FP4 was much better and I was able to improve the feeling with the CBR and also the lap time, which made me much happier. In Superpole 1 I started on the race tyre and then the qualifier but that didn’t bring much. We did the same in Superpole 2 and I was able to improve my time quite a bit. I’m happy with our position – I think the gap to the guys at the front is a little bit to far but I think our race pace is OK.
Sylvain Guintoli – P9, 1m34.562s
We’re still working hard and doing everything that we can trying to catch up. Obviously, we are missing a second and on a small track like this, that’s quite a lot. So we’re going to spend some time now going through everything on the data to try and understand how we can improve our pace and the race rhythm for tomorrow.
Pieter Breddels – technical co-ordinator
We hoped for dry weather but unfortunately this morning it was wet and we lost some valuable track time. Michael went through to Superpole 1 and that gave him a little more track time. He improved a lot in the last free practice too and his race pace is not looking so bad. He qualified eighth and the gap to the front looks quite big but I know his race pace is better than that. We worked through a lot of things with Sylvain and he was feeling OK but he ended a fraction behind Michael. As always, we’ll debrief and analyse and look for something he can go better with tomorrow.
More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:
Two Superpole Wins From Two Races For Rea And KRT
Kawasaki Racing Team rider Jonathan Rea rode his Ninja ZX-10R to his second pole position start of the season by setting a new track best of 1’33.382 near the end of the second Superpole session. Tom Sykes (KRT) placed fourth and will now lead the second row of starters for Sunday’s races.
Having set a very fast lap in his first outing in Superpole 2, Rea was subsequently overtaken for a time but he made a successful late attempt to start from the best possible position and it put him out in front for the second time in as many WSBK meetings.
Sykes placed himself in a good starting position despite not being able to make the most of his qualifying tyre, finishing up 0.459 seconds from pole but at the head of the second row.
Both Rea and Sykes lost dry track time at this all-new circuit when the third session proved to be wet this morning but they each made the most of the final free session shortly before Superpole, working on race pace and learning more about the 4.554km circuit.
Conditions were much cooler today than the scorching first day, with track temperatures some 20°C less than they had been – a development which complicated the preparation work done by the teams as they try to prepare for Sunday’s races.
Jonathan Rea: “It’s good to make it two out of two. We know the Kawasaki really takes profit from a soft tyre, especially the qualifier. My pace has been really strong all weekend in race conditions so I knew just to make clean laps in Superpole. But in every lap I made a mistake in T4 – the fast left – so I ended up much too fast and the rear came round, which is a problem I have been working on a little bit. We found some things after we struggled with my back brake at times but we fixed it in this final session. I was able to enter T5 much better. I made a mistake in T1 on the first flying lap and then I saw the time was P1, so I knew not to push too much and just make a clean lap next time. I saw a 1’33.3 near the end of the session and I thought it may not be enough, so I tried again on the third lap with a qualifier, but already the tyre had had enough.”
Tom Sykes: “It has just been unfortunate that I have not been able to use the qualifying tyre on the warm-up lap. In the last third of the lap I had three or four slides on the edge of the tyre, both left and right, but I knew I had to go for a fast lap anyway. I was struggling and it was not what I had expected. I am a little bit disappointed and that is why I tried for a second lap but I was not able to do it. We will work hard tomorrow and try to make two good races in any case.”
David Salom (Kawasaki Team Pedercini) made it into Superpole 2 by right after finishing tenth in regulation qualifying and then proceeded to take 11th place on the grid. He will now start from the fourth row.
More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:
The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team to line up on rows two and three of the grid with Davies and Bayliss in tomorrow’s SBK races at Buriram
Buriram (Thailand), Saturday 21 March 2015 – solid results for the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team and riders Chaz Davies and Troy Bayliss in today’s Superpole at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand. The factory riders qualify sixth (Davies) and seventh (Bayliss) for tomorrow’s Superbike races.
This morning’s final timed practice session took place in surprisingly wet conditions. Despite rain both prior to, and during the session, several riders took to the track briefly to test out rain settings, but qualification for Superpole was of course established by times set yesterday in dry conditions. Both Davies and Bayliss thus qualified directly for Superpole 2, in third and seventh place respectively.
Superpole 2: in dry conditions, the two factory riders completed a first lap on the race tyre. The times recorded saw Chaz lying third and Troy ninth in the initial stages. With the risk of rain looming over the pits, almost all riders were straight back out on track with the qualifying tyre, Chaz and Troy included. Davies completed a very fast first lap, in 1’34.087, followed by a second lap that was another three thousandths of a second quicker. A 1’34.084 thus assured the Welshman of final sixth position. Although Troy made just one flying lap with the qualifier (1’34.334), it was enough to place him in overall seventh position. The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team riders will therefore line up on the second and third rows of the grid for tomorrow’s two 20-lap races.
Quotes after the day’s sessions:
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team #7) – 6th (1’34.084)
“This weekend’s not turning out to be an easy one for us but we won’t stop trying. Yesterday I was missing feeling at the front and although we’ve made some changes today I know we’re still having some issues. It’s difficult to be consistent as the front is a bit nervous and that’s all it takes, a small mistake, to lose precious tenths. We’ll continue to work tomorrow and we have a few things to try in warm-up – I hope we can come up with something. I’ll do my best, also because, as we know, anything can happen come race day…”
Troy Bayliss (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team #21) – 7th (1’34.334)
“I’m reasonably happy, and think I’m more or less where I thought I’d be on the qualifying tyre, but I’d have liked to do a little more in the free practice earlier. In terms of race pace I don’t think we’re doing too badly but I know tomorrow’s races will be tough. We’re still missing a little acceleration but I know we’ve worked in the right direction this weekend. We’ll see if we can find a little more in warm-up tomorrow and then I hope to be able to score two reasonable results…”
More, from a press release issued by Red Devils Aprilia:
TWO INCREDIBLE LAPS AND HASLAM TAKES THE FRONT ROW WITH SECOND BEST TIME.
ONLY 11 THOUSANDTHS OF A SECOND KEPT THE BRIT FROM HIS FIRST SUPERPOLE ON THE APRILIA RSV4
A NICE FIFTH BEST TIME AND THE SECOND ROW FOR JORDI TORRES IN HIS FIRST EXPERIENCE ON A QUALIFIER TYRE.
Buriram (Thailand), 21 March 2015 – First and second row on the starting grid for Aprilia, reigning world champion, on the Thai Buriram circuit.
It was a spectacular and heated Superpole right down to the end. Taking it with an advantage of just 11 thousandths of a second was Rea, followed by Aprilia standard bearer Leon Haslam, who put in two flying laps on a qualifier tyre.
For Leon Haslam (leading the standings after victory in Australia) this is the second start from the front row in two races since making his début with the Aprilia RSV4. Leon was among the front runners from the beginning even in the practice sessions, giving the fans a show and taking full advantage of his RSV4. After putting the best time on the sheets with his first attempt on a qualifier Leon kept on, further improving his performance. Just a small mistake in the final phases kept him from winning his first Superpole with Aprilia, in any case taking a promising second position on the grid for the two races tomorrow.
The excellent work done in the garage during the practice sessions allowed Leon to line up on the grid with comforting results in terms of race pace, on a track where the high temperatures make proper tyre management vital.
Leon Haslam: “I’m pleased with this Superpole. The first row was our goal. In the first lap with a qualifier I may have been a bit overly cautious, whereas in the second one I made a small mistake. In any case, in terms of race pace we are doing well. The guys at Aprilia have done a great job and the RSV4 adapted quickly to the new track. Tomorrow the track condition will be different and I expect that there will be several riders capable of making a play for the win.”
For Jordi Torres, a rookie in World Superbike this year, this was his first experience with a Pirelli Superpole tyre since in Australia the last session had been suspended. In any case, the Spaniard handled this new situation well, finishing with the fifth best time which earns him a spot on the second row of the starting grid for tomorrow.
Jordi Torres: “I would have needed a few more laps during this weekend, but unfortunately the rain this morning made us miss a session. In FP4 we managed to do a great job, getting back up front, but first and foremost increasing my feeling with the RSV4. In Superpole for the first time I used a qualifier and the second row is not too bad at all, but when you ride an Aprilia it’s never enough! Tomorrow we’ll have to use the warmup wisely to improve further, especially in the braking sections where I still haven’t found the right solution to brake hard and keep the bike stable.”
More, from a press release issued by Althea Racing:
Buriram (Thailand) 21/03/2015 – In tomorrow’s races at Buriram, Team Althea Racing will line up in 12th position with Matteo Baiocco and in 14th position with Nico Terol.
The morning brought complications for the Team when rain began to fall on the Asian track during the first minutes of the third timed practice sessions, valid for qualification to Superpole. Conditions, neither full wet nor full dry, meant that the session was of no use to riders until it began to rain a little more heavily. Only in the final stages were the riders able to take to the track to test the rain setting of their 1199 Panigale R bikes. After just one lap a crash for a wildcard entry resulted in a red flag and the session came to a premature conclusion. This meant that work was postponed until the free practice session. The 30-minute practice took place in sunny conditions and the riders were finally able to work on new set-ups ahead of the Superpole, with both Matteo and Nico able to improve on times set yesterday and make some changes ahead of tomorrow’s races.
Nico Terol, still feeling unwell and as a result of losing this morning’s practice to the rain, found himself taking part in Superpole 1 at the Chang International Circuit. The Spaniard was able to complete two good laps with the qualifying tyre (the best in 1’35.255) but it was not enough to gain entry to Superpole 2, so he will line up in fourteenth place on tomorrow’s race grid.
Matteo Baiocco was a little further forward and, having closed yesterday’s sessions in eighth place, he qualified directly for Superpole 2 today. He concluded the Superpole in 12th position (1’35.024). Tomorrow’s Race 1 will take place at 13:00 and race 2 at 16:30 local time.
Riders comments at the end of the day:
Nico Terol: “Yesterday and today have been two difficult days for me. Today I’m feeling a little better physically, but I hope to be better tomorrow and to be able to make some steps forward to improve on today’s results. The rain this morning didn’t allow to us test anything and although we made a good step in the free practice we still need to make more because I’m having more trouble than I would have expected. When things are not going well, it’s important to continue to work hard together with the team and then results will come.”
Matteo Baiocco: “I had hoped to achieve a better result in the Superpole and it’s a shame because we had good pace during the free practice but I was not able to be fast enough during the first laps with the new tyre. I think that tomorrow we’ll go back to what we tried yesterday afternoon, because in today’s cooler conditions I was unable to repeat the same kind of times. We’ll start from there and see where we can get to tomorrow. As far as the races are concerned I think we’re in a good position, I’m confident and think we can fight for good positions.”
More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office:
FRONT ROW FOR LOWES & VOLTCOM CRESCENT SUZUKI
Voltcom Crescent Suzuki’s Alex Lowes scored his first World Superbike front row today in the Championship’s debut Superpole qualifying at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand after claiming third position in a closely-fought battle.
With the entire field missing the majority of this morning’s third free practice session due to an unexpected downpour, Lowes was assured of his ascension into Superpole two. An impressive pace in the final mid-day practice saw the Suzuki racer begin his afternoon with confidence. Improving on his previous best with his second-flying-lap as the shoot-out for grid positions commenced, he headed his Yoshimura-powered GSX-R in for qualifying rubber, instantly breaking the 1’34 barrier on his return to the track. A 1’33.738 on his second attempt was enough to keep the Englishman in the top three, giving him his first front-row start on the world stage for tomorrow’s races.
Randy de Puniet’s difficult weekend continued, as the morning rain prevented him from truly assessing the braking issue that has been plaguing him all weekend. With the available track-time now diminished, the team worked hard to try to find a solution during the final 30-minute practice, but with the clock against them the Frenchman had to settle for 16th in the opening Superpole, and a sixth row start for his second Superbike race weekend.
Dark clouds and a cooler 29°C greeted the Championship for its inaugural qualifying at the Buriram Circuit as Kawasaki’s Jonathan Rea claimed pole position with a 1’33.382.
Voltcom Crescent Suzuki returns to the Chang International Circuit tomorrow for its first WSBK race, scheduled for 13:00hrs local time (06:00GMT) with the second instalment of action following later in the afternoon at 16:30hrs (09:30GMT).
Alex Lowes:
“I’m happy with today! It’s my first time on the front row with the Suzuki, the boys have done a good job and we keep making little steps forward, not too much but we’re going in the right direction! I’m enjoying it and hopefully I can repay the lads tomorrow with a decent result because they’ve all worked very hard over the winter and last year as well. Thanks to the whole team, the boys on the other side of the garage as well because they’ve helped me out too, so cheers! To be fair the lap wasn’t my best, I could’ve gone quicker and I just didn’t quite put it together so that was a shame, but all that matters is that we are on the front-row, we’ve got a chance tomorrow and I can’t wait.”
Randy de Puniet:
“The second round is very difficult for us because since the first practice I have been struggling with the brakes. It’s very strange, I have a bad feeling on the brakes and it’s very inconsistent, we don’t understand it yet and keep trying to find a solution. We have one more chance in the warm-up and I’m crossing my fingers to find something because without a solution it will be difficult for me. I will just try to stay calm, work with the team tonight and do my best tomorrow.”
Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“Congratulations to Alex and the whole team on his first front row start in World Superbikes. He’s been consistently fast in every session this weekend and it was great to back-that-up with the qualifying tyre. Alex is either fastest or equal fastest in all the sectors apart from the last one, where we are struggling a little bit under braking into the last corner, so some engine-brake setting work tonight and a little bit more refinement should help him there for the races.
“Randy has really had a difficult two days, and honestly, we are at something of a loss to understand the braking problems he is having. Every component that can contribute to the problem has been changed, some of them twice, and the characteristic has remained the same, so tonight the team will work hard to see what else can be done and also to study the data compared to Alex to check against the braking style that may help. Despite Randy’s difficult two days at this new track we are obviously pleased to confirm the continued potential of the GSX-R and we are looking forward to the races tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by Team Hero EBR:
Chang International Circuit, Thailand 20-22nd March 2015
Qualifying and Superpole – 21st March
Conditions: Changeable, overcast
Team Hero EBR rider Niccolo Canepa placed 18th after the first Superpole qualifying session at the Chang International Circuit today, with his team-mate and team manager Larry Pegram 23rd on the grid.
Niccolo has a sixth row starting position for each scheduled 20-lap race in Thailand, with the Italian rider feeling he has recovered well from the snapped tendon he suffered at the previous round in Australia.
For Pegram simple bad luck prevented him from having the chance to improve on his first day regulation qualifying times, as the final session this morning proved to be wet – just as the riders took the track.
In these wet circumstances he had no opportunity to improve on his Friday best lap time and he ended up 23rd on the grid, missing his chance of moving into Superpole 1 with Canepa.
With seriously long straights and a relatively simple layout the beautifully appointed circuit in Thailand provides few places for the Hero EBR 1190RX to show off its sweet handling but both riders are determined to make a good showing at the new circuit come raceday.
Larry Pegram
“We needed to move into the top 20 to get into Superpole today, after a not-so-good first day, but then it rained this morning for the final qualifying session. In the fourth practice session, which does not count for qualifying, we got up to 19th so it showed we could have made it if it had not rained this morning. I feel that we are getting quicker, learning and getting faster every weekend. Tomorrow, I think will be good because we have improved our pace and there will be a lot of attrition through the field because of the heat. By the end of the second race it will have been a hard day for everyone.”
Niccolo Canepa
“In the corners the bike is better than many of the top ten guys and on corner exits I am doing well. In that area the bike is amazing but there are too many straights at this track. We maybe have to wait for Assen and Imola and tracks like those. It is a bit frustrating for us here so far but the team is doing an amazing job. Riding the bike is an amazing experience but we cannot do any more right now.”