The Superpole for the 2019 Superbike World Championship race in Buriram was ended early, after six laps, due to a red flag for an incident between Thitipong Warokorn (Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team) and Leon Camier (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team).
However, the race started as normal, and like yesterday’s race, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) got a better launch than Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) but the power of the Panigale V4R allowed the Spaniard to draw back alongside the reigning World Champion. Nonetheless, Rea made the holeshot, only for Bautista to steam past him on the straight.
When they got to turn three, Bautista ran wide, and Rea cut underneath, only – again – for Bautista to power back by on the straight up to turn four. From there, surprisingly, Rea was unable to make an impression on Bautista, who stretched out a sizeable lead at the front and eventually won by two seconds, keeping his and the new Ducati’s 100% winning record in the championship.
After he was able to keep Bautista within range for over half the race yesterday, Rea would have been disappointed to have seen the #19 creep away after the second lap, but with the size of the straights in Buriram and the power advantage of the Ducati there is, really, only so much the four-times champion can do.
Alex Lowes – Pata Yamaha WorldSBK – 2019 WorldSBK. Image courtesy of Yamaha Corporation
Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha) tagged onto the back of the two leaders from the start, and pulled away from his Yamaha stablemates and Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) behind. In the end it was a second podium, and a second third place, of the weekend and the season for the Englishman, and he will no doubt be out to make it three out of three rostrum appearances in Thailand in the final race of the weekend.
Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK) was next over the line in fourth, after a battle with Leon Haslam (6th) which lasted the shortened race distance. Only two tenths behind Haslam was Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK), who had a messy first couple of laps, making a few mistakes, but was looking good for a strong fightback before the red flag, and he finished 0.3 seconds ahead of his GRT Yamaha teammate, Sandro Cortese who was seventh.
Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) finished eighth on the factory Ducati, ahead of Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) who made a good start but dropped back from there. Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) rounded out the top ten, but just missed out on the front three rows for the final race of the weekend.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team) finished eleventh, ahead of Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing VerdNatura), Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing), Markus Reiterberger (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) and Alessandro Delbianco (Althea Mie Racing Team) who scored the first point of his WorldSBK career, and was the final rider classified.
Eugene Laverty’s (Team GoEleven) race was over before it even started, as his GoEleven team couldn’t get his bike repaired after his brake failure yesterday. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) retired at the end of the second lap, before Camier and Warokorn had their incident. Both were taken to hospital and both were declared unfit for the third and final race of the Thailand event.
Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto says Ferrari issued team orders to Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc to avoid taking ‘any risks’ in the closing stages of the Australian Grand Prix.
Ferrari Media
Despite many labelling the Scuderia the favourites going into the season based on their form in testing, Ferrari struggled around the streets of Albert Park.
“Right from Friday, we didn’t feel comfortable at this track,” Binotto said. “Even though we did a lot of work on set-up, we didn’t find the right balance and even our qualifying performance demonstrated that we were struggling to adapt to the Albert Park track.”
After Vettel made a pitstop to switch onto the medium tyres, he failed to get enough grip out of them and was passed by Max Verstappen. When Leclerc then started gaining on Vettel using newly fitted hard tyres with ten laps to go, he asked the team whether he should stay behind.
“Yes, and back off to have some margin,” came the reply. Leclerc obeyed and the pair trailed home fourth and fifth, nearly a minute behind race winner Valtteri Bottas.
Ferrari Media
It was made clear in pre-season testing that Ferrari had the intentions of prioritising Vettel over Leclerc in an attempt to boost the former’s hopes in the title race. In Australia, though, it was a matter of not jeopardising either of their drivers’ results, despite the thirty second gap to Kevin Magnussen in the Haas behind.
Speaking of the decision, Binotto said, “When [Vettel] could no longer fend off Verstappen, we decided the most important thing was to get to the end, managing the tyres. When Charles caught up to him, it seemed wise not to take any risks.
“We leave Australia with a lot of data to analyse and we will use that to work out how to get back to our actual level of competitiveness for the race in Bahrain in two weeks time.”
After a long winter break, Formula One finally returned to Down Under for the Australian GP.
Qualifying made clear that the testing results from Barcelona weren’t very representative. Gasly didn’t make it through to Q2, as Red Bull thought his first run was good enough. A big surprise for McLaren was the eighth place for rookie Lando Norris, showing that McLaren are ready for points again.
In front it was the big question if Ferrari and Red Bull indeed closened the gap to Mercedes. After three Free Practice sessions it still wasn’t clear, but the third qualifying session did clear things up. Mercedes are still the ones to beat, Ferrari are behind them and Red Bull are still third, although Max Verstappen (P4) qualified in front of new Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc (P5). Lewis Hamilton took pole by a sensational 0.7s to rival Vettel (P3), with Bottas close behind him.
A dramatic start for the local hero Daniel Ricciardo, who lost his front wing after a good start trying to overtake but had to go onto the grass were there was a small bump.
In front it was Bottas who took the lead from Hamilton and immediately created a gap. Charles Leclerc tried to overtake on the outside through turn 1, but had to be cautious with his teammate in front.
Pierre Gasly tried to make his way through the field, which wasn’t an easy task at this circuit as he struggled to get past the Toro Rosso of Daniil Kvyat.
In lap nine Leclerc made a small mistake into turn 1, going through the gravel and losing three seconds to Verstappen ahead. One lap later one of the Renault engines failed, causing the McLaren of Carlos Sainz to catch fire.
The first regular pit stop of the race was for Kimi Räikkönen in lap thirteen, opting for the mediums. Next lap Nico Hülkenberg pitted for the hard tyre, so already there were different strategies.
Vettel went to the mediums as well in lap fifteen. Meanwhile Netflix documentary F1: Drive to Survive rivals Magnussen and Hülkenberg were battling each other heavily on track out of the pits.
Another pit stop drama for Haas as the front left tyre of Grosjean didn’t go on quickly, costing him a few seconds.
In the midfield Norris tried to get past Alfa Romeo rookie Antonio Giovinazzi, showing that the new aero regulations made for closer racing. The Giovinazzi train grew bigger with Grosjean, Albon and Perez joining the battle. In lap twenty-six Norris finally passed the Italian, who was defending his place like his life depended on it.
Twenty-nine laps in and Leclerc finally made his first pit stop, going for the hard tyre which seemed like a strange decision.
Local hero Ricciardo had to retire the car in lap 31. At the same moment it was Grosjean parked his car behind the barriers, the bad pit stop seemingly the cause of the retirement.
An overtake attempt by Kvyat on Perez ended up in the gravel trap, but he could go on. Gasly immediatly pitted, but couldn’t get past the Russian.
With fifteen laps to go Vettel was really struggling for pace in P4, asking his team: “Why are we so slow?”
After fifty-eight laps it was Valtteri Bottas who took the first win of 2019 (and his first since Abu Dhabi 2017), outclassing his teammate Hamilton. Verstappen should be happy about his third place, and Hamilton should be worried about second due to the twenty-two second gap to his teammate.
The biggest worries, however, should be at Ferrari. No real impressive race pace and Leclerc almost out finished
his teammate albeit a gap of over ten seconds before the pit stops.
The first winner of the extra point for fastest lap was Valtteri Bottas, leaving Australia with the full twenty-six points. Next race is Bahrain, will we see a revival of Ferrari or are Red Bull ahead of the reds? We’ll see in two weeks time.
The first round of the 2019 Formula 1 season is complete – here we look at Australian GP driver ratings:
Valtteri Bottas – 9
Sunday was near perfect, with a lightning start allowing him to jump his team mate and from then he just went off into the distance, getting an extra point for fastest lap as well. He wasn’t necessarily the winner we expected from pre-season testing but he was without a doubt the driver of the day.
2019 Australian Grand Prix, Sunday – LAT Images
Lewis Hamilton – 7
Hamilton is well known for having the Saturday pace which generally puts him in good stead for Sunday, but he was beaten fair and square during the race. Still, he’ll take the podium along with the equal record for the most poles at one circuit.
Max Verstappen – 8
Verstappen put in the best performance for Honda in the whole of the hybrid era with his podium finish. He managed his tyres well and made an easy move on Vettel. A mistake at turn one hindered a late attack on Hamilton, but he will leave Melbourne with a smile on his face.
Sebastian Vettel – 7
Vettel had a solid start and was quick in the first stint, attempting to attack with an undercut which ultimately didn’t work. You can guarantee an investigation will be underway at Ferrari to figure out how they ended up 57 seconds behind the winner.
Charles Leclerc – 6
A great start by Leclerc but he was rather ambitious to attempt a move on his team-mate which could have ended in tears. Unlike his team-mate, he was slow in the first half of the race but fast in the second, and caught up to Vettel before being told to hold position. He showed he had speed in Q2 but the Ferrari doesn’t seem to be the package everyone thought.
Ferrari Media
Kevin Magnussen – 8
Magnussen was best of the rest in Australia, with solid pace and what seems to be the fourth quickest car. It was a better result than last year with no faulty pitstops, even if he was outqualified by his team-mate.
Nico Hulkenburg – 7
It was another result in a familiar place for the German. He started 11th so had free choice of tyres, which benefitted him in the race as he got the move on a few other drivers.
Kimi Raikkonen – 8
Raikkonen did exceptionally well considering where the team was last year, with a very aggressive package seeming to suit him well. He got the car into Q3 and kept that momentum going into Sunday.
Lance Stroll – 7
Stroll always raises eyebrows due to how he got into the sport, but in the race he showed he was fully deserving of the seat at Racing Point as he was in the thick of it all weekend. He scored the team’s only point, having some great battles whilst keeping the car clean.
Danil Kvyat – 6
A good return to the sport, ignoring a mistake at turn three. He was ambitious to run the hard tyre and defended well from faster cars behind, taking his car deeper into the race and allowing him to overcut the majority of them for the last point.
Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Pierre Gasly – 4
Australia will be a race to forget for Gasly. A mistake on Saturday by the team cost him dearly and he spent most of the race staring at Kvyat’s rear wing, unable to get past even on the softest tyre.
Lando Norris – 7
It was a great Saturday from Norris, but an early stop in the race in reaction to others put him in traffic. He was unable to pass Giovinazzi for several laps and just missed out on the points. Expect big things from Norris this season.
Sergio Perez – 5
It was an off-day for the Mexican on Sunday as he was classified down in 13th. He got caught up in the midfield battle which let others overcut him. The car looks great though, so there will be plenty more opportunities for him.
Alex Albon – 6
Despite being the first to spin this season in similar circumstances to his incident in testing, Albon did a good job. He matched Kvyat for outright pace on Saturday but was just caught up in the ever-so-tight midfield squabble. A good Sunday debut.
Antonio Giovinazzi – 5
The returning Italian was a pain for most at Melbourne, stuck on a confusing strategy with his tyres were ruined, and becoming a replacement for the infamous ‘Trulli train’. He showed true grit in terms of defence but not a lot of outright speed, though this is only his third ever race in F1.
George Russell – 6
Russell blitzed his much more experienced team-mate, but that’s not saying much considering Kubica is really the only competition he has due to Williams being so far behind the others. He finished his debut race and hopefully get in the mix, sooner rather than later.
George Russell (GBR) Williams Racing FW42. Australian Grand Prix, Sunday 17th March 2019. Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia.
Robert Kubica – 3
A race to forget and move on from for Kubica. He hit the wall twice on Saturday and then hit Gasly at turn one on the first lap of the race. Williams will have collected some data though, and Kubica will get quicker and quicker throughout the season.
Romain Grosjean – 7
Another pit stop failure resulted in early retirement for the Frenchman, after being on course for a good points haul. A long delay in the pits pushed him down the order, and he then had to stop the car on track due to a ill-fitted left-front tyre.
Daniel Ricciardo – 5
For the first time in Melbourne in the turbo era, Ricciardo failed to get through to Q3 on Saturday, and his race – his first for Renault – was pretty much over in a few seconds when he pushed wide onto the grass and broke his front wing. He decided to retire the car.
Carlos Sainz – 4
Sainz was beaten by his rookie team mate on Saturday comprehensively, and was the first to retire on Sunday. Because of the nature of the track he had been unable to make up much ground prior to the retirement. He is a fighter though, and will be back for Bahrain.
The second round of the 2019 Superbike World Championship saw Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) claim his first ever Superpole in qualifying, as the Spaniard looked to continue his 100% winning record in the championship after taking the first ever WorldSBK ‘triple’ in Phillip Island.
Despite an average launch, the world championship leader was able to use the power of his Ducati Panigale V4R to make the holeshot, but he ran wide, and after starting second on the grid, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was able to cut underneath him and get a good enough exit from the first turn to allow him to lead through the kink of turn two and into turn three. The reigning World Champion ran wide in the turn three hairpin, but was able to square off the exit and beat Bautista to turn four at the end of the uphill drag, which was important for the Kawasaki rider, as he would now have the opportunity to pull away in the section of track in which he believed he was faster.
Álvaro Bautista ahead of Jonathan Rea. Round 2 of the 2019 WSBK Season. Image courtesy of Ducati
If anything, though, Bautista closed onto Rea’s rear wheel, and Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK) was able to close onto the back of the leading duo through the twisty stuff towards the end of the lap as well.
Rea and Bautista soon engaged in a strong fight for the lead, Bautista of course having the advantage on sheer straight line speed, but Rea was doing everything, to try to counter-act the horsepower of the Panigale, focusing a lot – it seemed – on corner exit to launch down the straight. In parc ferme afterwards, Bautista commented that he felt he was losing out on corner exit, so whatever Rea was doing in this area was working well.
Not only was Rea impressive on corner exit, but he was demonic on the brakes. It became a notable feature of Rea’s riding last year, with the rev limits introduced for the Kawasaki limiting their speed and acceleration. Rea had to make the time on the brakes as a result, and he found himself in the same situation this season, and there was not a single braking zone at the Buriram circuit in which Rea did not appear on the limit.
In the early stages of this battle, Bautista passed Rea on the straight between turns one and three, and knowing he was missing out on braking compared to the reigning World Champion, the Spaniard pushed a little further on the brakes. He lost the rear, ran slightly wide, and Rea cut back on the inside. There was contact, and Bautista completely lost the front. It was a lucky escape for the Spaniard to stay on the bike, and to lose only one position to Alex Lowes was similarly fortuitous.
It took Bautista though, only one lap to re-pass Lowes, and then a few laps to recover the one second gap to Rea.
The Ducati rider was showing scintillating pace in that period of the race, in that one lap taking almost half a second out of his rival. When he caught Rea, and passed him, it was not without a fight that Rea let him go. The Northern Irishman pushed beyond the limit for several laps, locking and folding the front numerous times before his front tyre had finally had enough.
When Rea finally decided to conserve his second place and twenty World Championship points, Bautista was able to open up a large gap, and was still lapping in the low 1’33s as late as lap eighteen, slowing to ’33.7 on the final two laps. In comparison, Rea had dropped to 1’34s since lap sixteen (his final lap was a 1’36, but he slowed on the exit of the final corner).
Despite Jonathan Rea’s best efforts, Alvaro Bautista still came away from his fourth ever WorldSBK race with his fourth ever WorldSBK win, extending his championship advantage over Rea to eighteen points.
Whilst he was beaten again, there are positives to take for the reigning World Champion. Primarily, Rea was able to stay with Bautista for ten laps and more. The Superpole race on Sunday morning is ten laps, and so Rea has a real hope of taking victory in the sprint.
Michael van der Mark and Alex Lowes at the Thiland WSBK round One Race 2019. Image courtesy of Yamaha Corporation
Alex Lowes was finally able to take his first podium of the season, probably one round late than he would have hoped, but to finish as top Yamaha for the second time this season will be a boost to him. Especially as the R1s of himself, his Pata Yamaha WorldSBK teammate Michael van der Mark and GRT Yamaha WorldSBK’s Marco Melandri were all so closely matched in race one at Buriram.
It was Van der Mark’s R1 which crossed the line closest to Lowes, in fourth place, just 0.468 seconds behind his teammate. Whilst Melandri lost time to his stablemate in a battle with Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK’s Leon Haslam, the Italian struggling with the same straight-line stability problems which dogged him last year on the Ducati. It was a sixth place for Melandri, a tenth behind Haslam in fifth, who in the end was three seconds from the Pata Yamaha riders.
Seven seconds back Melandri was his GRT Yamaha WorldSBK teammate and reigning Supersport World Champion Sandro Cortese, the rookie having another strong ride to seventh place, after beating Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team) to the line on the final lap. Rinaldi’s ride should not go un-noted, going from sixteenth on the grid it was perhaps his strongest race of the season aboard his “Showa-sprung” Panigale V4R (in comparison to the Ohlins suspension of his factory stablemates).
Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) came home in ninth place, struggling again with the lack of power of the S1000RR in the straights of the first two sectors.
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) rounded out the top ten, after struggling for setup all weekend.
Eleventh place went to Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing), the Spaniard finishing two tenths ahead of fellow Kawasaki privateer rider Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racin VerdNatura) in twelfth. Leon Camier (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) was thirteenth, struggling – not unlike the BMW riders – with the lack of power in the CBR1000RR, but ahead nonetheless of BMW Motorrad WorldSBK’s Markus Reiterberger, and Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) on the Panigale V4R after crashing mid-race and remounting.
Sixteenth place went to Thitipong Warokorn (Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team), the Thai wildcard, and Alessandro Delbianco (Althea Mie Racing Team) who was the final finisher in seventeenth.
There were two retirements: Eugene Laverty (Team GoEleven) and Ryuichi Kiyonari (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team). Laverty’s was by far the more alarming retirement, as he lost his brakes at 125mph into the final corner. Fortunately, the Irishman was okay after his fourth career brake failure.
Alvaro Bautista winner of race one with Jonathan Rea (2nd) Alex Lowes(3rd). Image courtesy of Ducati
Perhaps the most telling part about of the 2019 WorldSBK season is the gaps. Alvaro Bautista and Ducati have been very impressive so far, but arguably the step Jonathan Rea has made this year to try to challenge them has been even greater. Last year saw the top ten split by eleven seconds, yet Rea this year, had six seconds back to Alex Lowes; after destroying his front tyre and sitting up on the final corner which cost him two seconds. There will probably be people who are at the moment questioning the ability of Jonathan Rea – after four straight world titles with arguably the best bike for all four of those seasons, he is now finding himself incapable of getting anywhere near Bautista for a full race distance. However, to see a more accurate reflection of Jonathan Rea’s ability on a motorcycle, it is more relevant to look at the gap behind him, not the one in front of him.
Reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton believes that qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix was the first occasion that Mercedes were able to ‘unleash the full potential’ of the W10.
Hamilton led a Mercedes 1-2 in qualifying around the streets of Albert Park, almost a tenth of a second ahead of team-mate Valtteri Bottas and seven tenths ahead of third-placed Sebastian Vettel.
It was the Brit’s eighth pole position in Australia, equaling Michael Schumacher’s record of the most poles claimed at one circuit.
“I feel so fortunate to be in the position I’m in today,” Hamilton said. “We had no idea that we’d have this gap to the others – we thought we were behind, we thought it was going to be a push, so we gave it absolutely everything and more to arrive here with the best possible package and delivery.”
Mercedes came into the first race of the year with many saying that Ferrari held the advantage over the Silver Arrows based on their form in pre-season testing; Hamilton thus expressed his surprise at the performance of his car in qualifying.
“We haven’t massively changed the car; it’s almost the same set-up we had in Barcelona, so this gap was really surprising to see,” he said. “This is the first time we’ve unleashed the full potential of the car and I’m so happy to have a car that I can fight with. This is a really great start to the new season and it puts us in a good position for the fight tomorrow.”
Daniel Ricciardo says Renault “have to keep a cool head” going into tomorrow’s Australian Grand Prix, despite a difficult qualifying that saw both of the team’s drivers fail to reach Q3.
Ricciardo missed out by the narrowest of margins and will start his home race in P12, just one position behind his team-mate Nico Hulkenberg.
“I’m clearly disappointed not to make Q3,” Ricciardo said, “especially as it was just half a tenth and that’s something I can find in myself – I lost a bit of time in the first sector on the last run. We had the potential to make Q3 so when you don’t do the perfect lap, it’s frustrating.
“As expected the midfield is really close but I’m feeling optimistic for a strong result tomorrow. I always want to do well at home, but we have to keep a cool head, have a good start and then attack when necessary.”
Renault’s Sporting Director Alan Permane added, “We thought [Ricciardo] had another couple of tenths which would have put him safely into the top ten. We therefore have a little bit of work to do tomorrow, but with the good long run pace we demonstrated yesterday, we are aiming to make up for today and get both cars well into the points.”
McLaren rookie Lando Norris says he isn’t ‘going to get carried away’ with himself and with the performance of the car, despite a Q3 appearance on his F1 debut at the Australian Grand Prix.
Norris qualified P8 with a time of 1:22.304, putting him ahead of the likes of Kimi Raikkonen, Nico Hulkenberg and home-favourite Daniel Ricciardo. It is McLaren’s first Q3 appearance since the Monaco Grand Prix of last year.
Speaking of his performance, Norris said, “I loved it but I’m not going to get carried away! I was very nervous at the start of the session with it being my first-ever F1 quali and never having been here before. But I managed to put the laps together today – the team were fantastic.
“Our aim was to get into Q2 but it turned out to be even better, and it’s a great confidence boost for everyone. It’s going to be a long, tough race and that’s what I must concentrate on now.”
Norris’ team-mate Carlos Sainz, by comparison, will start from P18, having been forced to back off when he encountered a puncture-riddled Robert Kubica in Q1.
Formula One is back with a bang, and Albert Park’s two days of running have culminated in a scattergun grid, topped by Lewis Hamilton.image courtesy of Pirelli Motorsports.
The five time World Champion picked up his stellar form from 2018’s end, landing his sixth consecutive pole in Melbourne and, surprisingly, scorching the tipped favourites Ferrari on one lap pace.
The session started with a twist – 1st to 18th were separated by just a second, and when Red Bull newbie Pierre Gasly didn’t show in the final minutes, he surfed down the order to 17th.
Lance Stroll joined him in the Q1 dropzone, as did an unlucky Carlos Sainz, who found his final sector to be compromised by a limping Robert Kubica who had moments ago brushed the wall and picked up a puncture. Kubica and his teammate George Russell endured a nightmare, their Williams over a second away from the nearest car.
Q2 saw many new, and returning, faces still in the hunt. Daniil Kvyat’s impressive return to the frontline ultimately earned him 15th place, while his teammate Alexander Albon placed his Toro Rosso a more than respectable 13th on his first qualifying outing.
The home boy, Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo, didn’t have the session he had hoped for: general consensus was that the Renault is the 4th quickest package, but neither he nor Nico Hulkenberg were able to extract it and line up 11th and 12th, the German getting first blood.
The two extremes of the F1 grid, 19 year old Lando Norris and 39 year old Kimi Raikkonen both stole the show in the midfield, to earn a McLaren and Sauber representation in Q3.
Norris ended the final session in eighth place, marking an admirable U-turn from the dismal form McLaren had the season prior, while Raikkonen achieved a solid 9th. Sergio Perez brought up the rear, while once again the Haas package looks strong around Albert Park, with Romain Grosjean 6th and Kevin Magnussen 7th.
But it was Hamilton who ultimately stole the show – while Valtteri Bottas had the initial time to beat, he came back with a splendid lap on the edge that showed while the Mercedes might be a nervy car to drive, the pace is there in abundance.
Bottas lines up second on the grid, with Sebastian Vettel behind in 3rd and an opportunistic Max Verstappen completing the second row, ahead of Charles Leclerc.
For the fifth time in its history, The Buriram International Circuit in Thailand will play host to the second round of the Superbike World Championship.
The 2019 season began three weeks ago in Australia, with Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) taking all three race victories in dominant fashion. The Spaniard enjoyed a dream debut in WorldSBK, no doubt aided by the straight line performance of the new Ducati Panigale V4R, which should also be useful in Thailand, with the two long straights in the first sector. Whilst Bautista will undoubtedly arrive in Buriram the favourite for the victory in all three races, the Thai round could prove to be more of a challenge for the 2006 125cc World Champion.
Primarily, that challenge is likely to come from reigning World Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), who has won six out of the eight WorldSBK races held at the Thai track, including doubles in 2015 and 2017. Last year, the Northern Irishman faced struggles with on the brakes, as they overheated due to the heavy stops of the Buriram International Circuit combined with the extreme Thai heat. However, in response, the championship allowed larger brake ducts in Imola and Donington, which proved a successful remedy for the ZX-10RR’s problems. Still, though, it remains to be seen whether a similar situation will be encountered by Rea in this year’s Thai round of the Superbike World Championship – if he does it could leave Bautista free to take three more comfortable victories.
For the teammates of Rea and Bautista, Thailand is an interesting prospect.
Leon Haslam, (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) has not been to Buriram since 2015 when he rode the Aprilia RSV4 to two second places, meaning he can be fast at this track, but has less experience at the venue compared to his rivals. Haslam was strong in Phillip Island three weeks ago, and were it not for a crash in race one on Saturday, could have had three podiums.
Chaz Davis at Phillip Island 2019. Image courtesy of Ducati
On the side of Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati), however, the weekend is more of an opportunity for him to get closer to finding the feeling he wants from the Panigale V4R, having struggled with the new machinery since he first tried it last November. Davies appeared to make some progress in the second full-length race in Phillip Island, and will hope to continue along a similar path this weekend, on a circuit at which he often struggled with the V-twin Ducati, but was victorious at last season.
The other two Panigale V4R riders of Eugene Laverty (Team GoEleven) and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team) are looking along similar lines to Davies, trying to find a better feeling from the bike. The task is made more difficult for these satellite riders, though, since they have different suspension manufacturers compared to the factory team, and so what they can learn from Davies and Bautista’s data and settings is limited.
The Pata Yamaha WorldSBK team would have been disappointed with their weekend in Phillip Island, having looked promising with both Alex Lowes and Michael van der Mark throughout the weekend, and throughout the preseason – especially with Lowes – yet failed to make the podium in any of the three races in Australia. To add insult to injury, the new Yamaha team, GRT Yamaha WorldSBK, made the podium with Marco Melandri in the first race of the weekend. The battle for top Yamaha promises to be a great one in 2019, and the outcome of this weekend’s races will be interesting in respect to that fight.
It became clear during Phillip Island that strongest point of the new Ducati is its engine, whilst the new BMW S100RR had exactly the opposite issue. Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) rode superbly in the first race to take seventh place, but the power deficit of the BMW became more apparent in the two Sunday races, where Sykes made a bad start and could not find his way through the field, riders just powering away or past him on the straight. The situation will remain the same for this weekend, which will likely prove costly for both Sykes and his factory BMW teammate Markus Reiterberger in the first sector of the lap.
