The Thai round in Buriram International
Circuit has been important for Nolan Group riders with two more podiums for
Chaz Davies and Marco Melandri with Ducati spread across the two races. Even
after a red flag for a crash which involved 2 Nolan riders, Chaz & Lorenzo Savadori
both fortunately well protected by the X-Lite 802RR! But the first victory of
the season has come from where we didn’t expect with Fededico Caricasulo in
Supersport!
SUPERBIKE
Chaz Davies Race1 2nd
“I was hoping for more, but in the race I
realized that even finishing second wasn’t an easy result. We had some
limitations, especially in the first two sectors of the track, which surprised
me a bit. It wasn’t easy to pass Sykes and Marco and it took us some time.
Looking at the big picture, last year after this race we were trailing by a lot
more points in the championship. Consistency is the key at the moment. We have
to be realistic and what’s positive is that this is the best result from myself
and Ducati here at Buriram, which is a difficult track for us.”
Marco Melandri Race1 4th
“It was a hard race because of the heat,
but physically I felt OK. At first I pushed very hard to stay with Rea, and
managed to be more aggressive than in Phillip Island, but we still missed
something. Unfortunately, as the laps went by, we struggled under braking.
During free-practice we didn’t encounter these issues, but we also didn’t do
long runs. This made it difficult for us to keep a constant pace. Looking at
the bright side, tomorrow we will start from pole position, which could turn
into an advantage given that our closest rival will be on third row.”
Leon Camier RACE1 8th
"
Considering the difficult weekend we
had, I am really happy with this result today. We have made a very positive
step forward with chassis and electronics and now we can count a good package
for the race. For sure it remains a difficult track for us but I think we
definitely made the best we could have done. Tomorrow we have a few things we
can improve and I look forward to getting another good result in Race2."
Marco Melandri Race2 3rd
“This has been a good weekend for us. In
such difficult conditions, on a new track for me, it feels good to be close to
the front. Being passed at the very last turn in both races isn’t ideal, but I
struggled with braking since the first free-practice session and it wasn’t
possible to be more aggressive in what is the most critical corner of the
circuit. That said, the team has done a great job. We still lack something, but
we have some good ideas and we’ll keep pushing at 100 percent to reach our
rivals. I expect to do so already in Aragon.”
Chaz Davies Race2 6th
“I was following Marco but I misjudged his
speed a little bit so I went to the outside. For me the rear always locks
there, but that time it did it more than usual, perhaps because I was on a
dirty part of the track, and couldn’t recover the grip. Finishing sixth is a
salvage after the crash, but we could have been close to the podium at the
restart. Unfortunately, we had some issues with the throttle after some parts
were changed for safety. Still, we have many more points than after two rounds
last year, and now we’ll go to more favourable tracks. The championship is
long.”
Xavi Forés Race2 8th
"It 'was a difficult race but we
managed to get some points and stay in the Top 10 in a track that we already
knew to be tricky. Till now we always finished the race and we are sixth in the
standings, this is not an achievement to be underrated.
Hence we think of the next race in which
our first target will be managing some issues we've had here. "
SUPERSPORT
Federico Caricasulo 1th
"I am so happy because today I made a
very good race from the first to the last lap. On the final lap I made a little
gap from my competitors. The conditions were very hard so I am happy to win
here. It is very important now to continue all the races like this, fighting
for wins, if I want to take a good place in the championship at the end. All
weekend, after the experience of not finishing in Australia I worked to make
sure I would be able to make good lap times all race long, and in all
conditions. I did it like this and we won. I want to thank Yamaha and all in my
GRT team who worked well on the weekend to find a good set-up for my bike after
a difficult start."
