At the Australian track of Phillip Island, Jordi Torres concluded the opening race of the year in seventh position, while his team-mate Markus Reiterberger crossed the line twelfth and thirteenth.

Now, in the torrid Thai heat, the two Althea BMW riders will try to improve on their performance, having achieved a best result of fifth (Markus) and eighth (Jordi) at the Buriram track in the 2016 edition.

The Thai track is located in the north-east of the country, roughly 400 km from capital Bangkok. Inaugurated in 2014, the circuit has hosted the Superbikes since 2015.

Jordi Torres: “Chang is, in theory, a track that should be a little less complicated for us, With the information we collected there last season, I hope we are able to complete two good races. I like the track and am feeling confident, though it’s never easy to deal with the heat and humidity of Thailand.”

Markus Reiterberger: “I look forward to the Thai weekend, as I really enjoyed riding at the track last season. I hope we can come up with a good set-up for the bike, one that suits my style and the hard braking. It could be a good weekend if we can build on what we learned at Phillip Island during the tests and races.”