Full free practice one results for the second round of the 2019 World Superbike championship at Buriram, Thailand. 1. Alvaro Bautista ESP Aruba.it Racing – Ducati 1m 33.089s 20 laps
Alvaro Bautista says despite his dream debut in World Superbikes with a hat-trick of wins at Phillip Island he can’t be certain if the same performance will be translated in Thailand this weekend.
Tom Sykes hopes to maximise the use of the new BMW S1000RR’s strong chassis to make up for the expected top speed deficit it will face at the Buriram circuit this weekend in Thailand.
Michelin boss Piero Taramasso concedes the inaugural Thailand MotoGP round proved a tough race weekend due to inaccurate information and having to decide tyre compounds with limited knowledge.
Hafizh Syahrin has produced his best MotoGP race performance since the German round to take 12 th place for Monster Yamaha Tech 3 and kick-start his charge against Franco Morbidelli for the top rookie honour.
After ‘riding in a programmed way’ Jordi Torres has continued to make key progress as stand-in rider at Avintia Ducati taking 19 th place and finishing just two seconds behind team-mate Xavier Simeon using the older Ducati.
Bradley Smith says the extremely competitive level in MotoGP came out with his last-lap battle against Scott Redding to secure the final point place in 15 th at the first-ever Thailand round as he seeks answers behind pace problems in the first Asia flyaway race.
Aleix Espargaro took the tyre gamble none of his MotoGP rivals risked, while also going against Michelin’s recommendations, on his way to securing 13 th place for Aprilia in Thailand.
An unexpectedly strong weekend at the inaugural Thai MotoGP ended with Maverick Vinales and Valentino Rossi third and fourth respectively, both crossing the line within 1.6s of ending Yamaha's record win drought.
Marquez wins the inaugural Thai MotoGP at Buriram after a last-turn showdown with Dovizioso, as Yamaha riders Vinales and Rossi complete a close lead group after a thrilling race at the front.
Can Yamaha cause an upset - and perhaps even end their record MotoGP win drought - in Sunday's inaugural Thailand MotoGP? Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales will start second and fourth on the grid respectively, but more importantly both have looked fast in terms of race pace.
Cal Crutchlow will start Sunday's inaugural Thailand MotoGP from fifth on the grid, as the leading Independent rider. But the Englishman isn't sure what to expect from the race, especially given the 'strange' upturn in form for Yamaha.
While Johann Zarco has been ‘given a smile and happiness’ from Yamaha’s unexpected speed turnaround in Thailand, he is still bracing for a challenging race given the demands on the tyres in the hot conditions.
Michelin may have brought an expanded line-up of four (stiffer) rear tyres to this weekend's inaugural Thailand MotoGP, but 'the only tyre we suggest for the race is the hard one'.