FIM Supersport World Championship
Cheng International Circuit, Thailand
March 22, 2015
Race Results (all on Pirelli tires):
1. Ratthapark WILAIROT, Thailand (Honda CBR600RR), 17 laps, 27:57.523
2. Kenan SOFUOGLU, Turkey (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -1.828 seconds
3. PJ JACOBSEN, USA (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -1.860
4. Lucas MAHIAS, France (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -8.664
5. Ratthapong WILAIROT, Thailand (Honda CBR600RR), -12.110
6. Roberto ROLFO, Italy (Honda CBR600RR), -13.599
7. Marco FACCANI, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -14.025
8. Martin CARDENAS, Colombia (Honda CBR600RR), -14.857
9. Alex BALDOLINI, Italy (MV Agusta F3 675), -21.690
10. Gino REA, UK (Honda CBR600RR), -30.238
11. Decha KRAISART, Thailand (Yamaha YZF-R6), -30.639
12. Kevin WAHR, Germany (Honda CBR600RR), -36.167
13. Christian GAMARINO, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -36.337
14. Glenn SCOTT, Australia (Honda CBR600RR), -36.670
15. Dominic SCHMITTER, Switzerland (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -37.587
16. Thitipong WAROKORN, Thailand (Honda CBR600RR), -38.746
17. Jules CLUZEL, France (MV Agusta F3 675), -3 laps, DNF, retired
18. Kyle SMITH, UK (Honda CBR600RR), -9 laps, DNF, crash
19. Lorenzo ZANETTI, Italy (MV Agusta F3 675), -9 laps, DNF, crash
20. Kieran CLARKE, UK (Honda CBR600RR), -11 laps, DNF, mechanical
World Championship Point Standings (after 2 of 12 races):
1. Wilairot, 36 points
2. Sofuoglu, 30
3. Cluzel, 25
4. TIE, Jacobsen/Rea, 22
6. Zanetti, 20
7. Rolfo, 18
8. Baldolini, 16
9. TIE, Mahias/Smith/Faccani, 13
More, from a press release issued by CIA Landlords Insurance Honda:
Martin steps up in Thailand
CIA LANDLORDS INSURANCE HONDA’S Martin Cardenas took a career best eighth place in the second round of the World Supersport Championship at the Chang circuit in Thailand.
Starting from 12th on the grid, the Colombian kept his nerve and stepped up a gear to get into the top 10. Martin said: “That was really good, it was a tough race and I am happy with the result.
“It is good for now but the main thing is we have to try and improve from here and do better. I am working well with the CIA Landlords Insurance Honda team and every weekend we are working to find the right set up on the bike and get closer to the front.”
Gino Rea finished 10th after getting as high as seventh with a handful of laps to go. The British rider was hampered by an electrical problem towards the end of the race.
Kieran Clarke and Riccardo Russo did not finish.
The third round of the World Supersport Championship is at Aragon in Spain on April 12th.
CIA Landlords Insurance Honda Team Manager Simon Buckmaster said: “That was a good race for Martin. He rode strongly and has done an excellent job all weekend. He can build on that and aim for the top five next.
“Gino hurt his foot in a warm up crash and then ran wide in a few turns at the start of the race. He fought back and was looking good for fifth but then suffered some sort of electrical problem that we will investigate.
“Kieran was pleased with his start and doing OK until he hit a technical problem. We will check his bike and do our best to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
“Ricky was penalised for touring yesterday and had to start from the back of the grid. He then crashed and injured his hand in warm up this morning. He retired from the race early on and will be looking to the next round to get back where he belongs.
“Congratulations to Ratthapong Wilairot who took fifth place in his first WSS race in his home country. CIA Landlords Insurance Honda is happy to have been able to help him and AP Honda Thailand with the loan of an engine for this round.”
More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:
First Podium Of 2015 For Sofuoglu And Kawasaki Puccetti Racing
Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) scored second place in Thailand after a tough 17-lap race held in ambient temperatures of 33°C. Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpress rider PJ Jacobsen was a fighting third and Marco Faccani (San Carlo Puccetti Racing Kawasaki) seventh.
The 4.554km Chang International Circuit proved to be straightforward in layout if not in the action that unfolded on it, with Sofuoglu taking the lead for the first three laps, only to lose it to long-time leader Jules Cluzel. The Frenchman was to stop with a technical issue leaving local rider Ratthapark Wilairot to the win while Jacobsen and Sofuoglu contested second and third places into the last corner of the last lap.
Kenan was to come out on top and also move himself into second place in the championship fight with 30 points after the first two rounds of the season have been completed.
Jacobsen was just behind Sofuoglu over the line and took his first podium of the year in third, leaving Thailand fourth in the championship overall.
Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres) placed fourth in the race at Chang International Circuit, taking his first points of the season.
Full season WSS rookie Faccani was in top form as he more than met his pre-race target of a top ten, finishing seventh.
Team Go Eleven Kawasaki riders Christian Gamarino and Dominic Schmitter scored 13th and 15th places respectively, earning points in the process.
The next round will take place on 12th April, at the impressive Motorland Aragon circuit in Spain.
Kenan Sofuoglu: “We got the podium we wanted but I cannot say I am completely happy with it. I am pleased to score 20 points but I am not so happy with our pace in the race. Our main problem was that the temperatures went up and the track grip changed, which meant we were around a second slower than yesterday. My gearbox was set up for a faster corner speed so in the race I felt like I could not accelerate quickly out of the corners where you need full acceleration. In some parts of the track I was faster than other riders but out of the last corner and the first corner I lost too much. But we still took 20 points and the championship is still open. This was a very hard race for us but the coming races will not be like this one for me.”
PJ Jacobsen: “We had a lack of side grip towards the end because I used my tyre up in the middle of the race trying to catch Cluzel and Wilairot. I think the last three laps the heat was also not playing so well with me. I was thinking too much and Sofuoglu got by me in the last corner. That is a mistake I need to go back and fix for the next time. That said, if we could get a podium every weekend it would be great and we have regrouped after Phillip Island by putting it on the box here.”
Marco Faccani: “I am so happy because my target was a top ten, so seventh is a good race result for me. I was maybe too slow in the first laps but at the end of the race I attacked more. I lost one position to Roby Rolfo at the very end, so I am disappointed for that, but otherwise all is OK for me. We got a result well inside our target and the bike felt good.”
More, from a press release issued by Pata Honda:
Hard work yields little Supersport reward for Pata Honda in Thailand
After starting from the front row of the grid, Pata Honda rider Kyle Smith crashed out of today’s second-round World Supersport championship race at the Chang International Circuit at Buriram in Thailand.
To the delight of a large partisan crowd, the 17-lap race was won by local Thai rider Ratthapark Wilairot on another Honda CBR600RR, appropriately marking Honda’s 100th World Supersport victory since 1997.
After debuting fourth in the season opener at Phillip Island in Australia, World Supersport rookie Smith, 23, had shown good race pace throughout the weekend and was battling in the leading group before crashing out at the fast left-hand turn 10 at the 4.554km Buriram circuit.
Smith will have a chance to fight again in round three of the series, which takes place in his adopted Spain at the Motorland Aragon circuit on 10-12 April.
Kyle Smith – DNF
I felt really strong in the first part of the race. I knew there were a lot of laps and even though I’d been passed by a couple of riders, I knew my race pace over the weekend had been better than theirs so I wasn’t worried. I thought that as long as I stayed inside the leading group I would be fine. I felt like the front had been pushing a little all weekend and I had been making up for that with a slightly slower corner entry and then a faster exit. But as the pace in the race was a little higher, I was having to enter the corner faster and that ended up pushing the front more. I could still ride and felt stronger than the others and, as I pushed to close the gap and make an attack, I lost the front and crashed. There’s not much to say about that apart from to say it was rider error and to apologise t o the team.
Pieter Breddels – technical co-ordinator
I think we had a good warm-up this morning and Kyle got off to a really good start in the race. Unfortunately, he got a little tangled up with other riders and dropped to fifth and had to fight back to the front. As he was doing that he had another crash and unfortunately that was the end of the race. It’s a shame because I think he had the speed to win. I want to congratulate Ratthapark and CORE” Motorsport Honda for their win today, so at least Honda was on top and it’s fantastic for the company to celebrate 100 victories in this way.