RACING: WorldSBK preview, Rd2, Thailand

The 2018 Superbike World Championship heads to Thailand this weekend (March 23-25) as the 19 riders take on the 4.5km sweeping curves of the Chang International Circuit in Buriram.

Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) arrives in Thailand as the championship leader after having broken world champion Jonathan Rea’s string of 76 races at the top at Phillip Island.

Melandri will be looking to take his third consecutive win when the lights go out on Saturday, as the Italian heads to Thailand as the only WorldSBK victor of 2018. The 35-year-old is preparing for a tough fight, and after narrowly missing out on a double podium finish last season, he will be looking to improve his pace – especially through the tricky final corner. Melandri’s teammate Chaz Davies has a mixed bag of results from Thailand, but he has finished on the podium twice.

Kawasaki Racing Team is the benchmark around the Asian circuit, with a 100 per cent win record. Rea took the double victory when SBK first visited the circuit back in 2015, in 2016 Rea and Sykes swapped wins before Rea powered to the clean sweep again last year.

Meanwhile, Dutchman Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) will hope to put a tough opening round of the season behind him, and he has a strong history around Chang International Circuit. His teammate Alex Lowes will be pushing hard to get his YZF-R1 on the podium in Thailand, as well.

The Red Bull Honda of pairing Leon Camier and Jake Gagne will face another challenging weekend. Sitting in sixth position overall in the standings, Camier will be hoping to improve his overall record around the 4.4km circuit, where he has struggled in the past. With a new bike and team, the British rider will be putting everything he learnt from his first race with the CBR1000RR SP2 to good use this weekend, while for rookie Gagne it will be another track to learn.

Milwaukee Aprilia teammates Eugene Laverty and Lorenzo Savadori don’t have too many happy memories at the Chang International Circuit, which they will be looking to rectify. Italian Savadori has welcomed two top 10 finishes, while Irish hope Laverty has only competed here once and took home one point from both races. With some big steps made to the RSV4 RF made in Australia, there will no doubt be two determined Aprilia riders around Buriram.

Jordi Torres (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) has a strong record from Buriram in the past, as the Spanish rider has never finished outside of the top eight over all six appearances. Continuing to learn the dynamics of this new team, as well as the characteristics of the F4, it will certainly be a challenge for Torres but with the added confidence of the strong history – including two top four finishes in 2015, he will be one to watch.

Frenchman Loris Baz (Gulf Althea BMW) will have a big challenge on his hands, while Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team) is the standout at the moment after scoring a podium finish in Australia and sitting in fourth position in the standings.

In world supersport, with three different winners around Buriram in the past – Ratthapark Wilairot, Jules Cluzel and Federico Caricasulo – as well as wildcards thrown into the mix, it won’t be short of pure racing action.

Heading into the second round of the season as reigning world champion and championship leader, Lucas Mahias (Yamaha) will again be hard to beat. Teammate Caricasulo will be strong, as will be Aussie Ant West (Kawasaki), Randy Krummenacher (Yamaha), Sandro Cortese (Yamaha), Luke Stapleford (Triumph), Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki), Raffaele De Rosa (MV Agusta) and Niki Tuuli (Honda).

Sydney’s Lachlan Epis (Kawasaki) will also join West on the grid.