WSBK: Thai Round – Race 1: Battling Bautista Claims Victory

March 16, 2019 March 16, 2019

Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati) made it 4 wins on the bounce as he continued his perfect start to the season.

However, unlike in Australia three weeks ago, the Spaniard wasn’t to have it all his own way.

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) hooked up the perfect start off the line as the lights went out, making the hole shot into turn 1. Pata Yamaha rider Alex Lowes also made a strong get away, and the three quickly established an early gap to the field.

Rea had been quick to downplay any talks of the rivalry between himself and Bautista in the build up to the racing this weekend, however it did not take long for the mask to drop. The pair made contact at the end of the 1 kilometre long back straight, as they jostled to be first to the double apex of turns 2 and 3. Bautista ran into the entry too hot under braking, allowing Rea to cut back underneath the Ducati man and the pair exchanged paintwork.

Bautista took a lap to recompose himself and rebuild momentum, before he resumed chasing down the Ulsterman. When he did so, we were treated to a battle royale. The pair pulled clear from the field, trading a series of lap records. All this done whilst still racing wheel to wheel. To those watching, drawing a comparison with the great battles of yesteryear between Troy Bayliss and Colin Edwards would be justifiable.

Ultimately though the relentless rhythm of Bautista prevailed. Despite being forced to ride his Panigale V4R to the very limit, the Spaniard eventually managed to force Rea to submit to second best again. With searing track temperatures, tyre wear became critical, and the defending champion elected to hang back on this occasion and take 20 points. Neither man can win the championship this early in the season, but failing to secure any points could certainly risk jeopardizing title ambitions.

The race was action packed from the start across the field. Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) initially found himself up into fourth place after the opening lap shenanigans. However it wasn’t to last. As was the case in Australia, the team were once again racing with stock engines. As a consequence, the S1000RR was a sitting duck down each of the three long straights. Through the speed trap, they were as much as 20kph slower than their rivals. Sykes had to utilise all of the bike’s cornering speed and handling to keep himself competitive and did just that to finish inside the top ten. A valiant ride from the 2013 champion, keeping the likes of Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Barni Racing Ducati) and Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha) within sight.

There was a brilliant fight for the final place of the podium between Lowes, Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha), Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha) and Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team). The latter duo were not adverse to getting the elbows out, bumping fairings as they regularly traded places. Despite having only raced once before at the Buriram circuit – in 2015 – Haslam has been on the pace so far this weekend, and taking the scalp of Melandri today confirms he will be a major force in the series as the season progresses.

Try as he might though, van der Mark just couldn’t force his teammate into making a mistake, and the 28-year old British rider claimed his first podium of the season. It was a hard fought podium, witht he pair never separated by more than 0.4s once they came together. Lowes undoubtedly got the most out of his Yamaha R1 machine today and consolidated his position as the lead Yamaha rider in the championship.

There was disappointment for the likes of Eugene Laverty (Team GoEleven Ducati) and Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Ducati) who both crashed. Laverty fell early on at the entry to the final corner and was unable to continue, whilst Davies lost the front end mid-race at turn 2. Fortunately for the Welshman, he was able to remount and still secured a point for P15. It continues to be a difficult start to the season for Davies, as he still recovers from major reconstructive surgery over the winter. He hopes to be fully fit once the series returns to Europe.

The day belonged to Bautista claiming a hat-trick – pole position, race win and fastest lap – but was forced to dig deep for it by Jonathan Rea.

Tomorrow’s racing will be unmissable.

WorldSBK Race 1 result: Top 10