Reigning World Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) continues with his strong pace around Chang International Circuit, as he ends both sessions on top at a circuit he has an impressive record.

Tackling the heat around the Asian circuit, which is a tough battle to overcome, the Northern Irishman, was able to put in a full race simulation at the start of free practise session two. Ending with a lap time of 1.33.573, Rea was able to bring his pace from 2016 forward and is happy with the levels of grip around the Buriram circuit.

Rea explained: “It was important to do a race simulation today which we started FP2 with and it went okay, I was able to be pretty fast at the end. There are still some areas we need to improve on the bike to make it comfortable but all in all, it’s going okay.”

“Grip level is much higher than last year, and this year I can take the lines I like. I am quite surprised because we had a lot of rain and already the lap times are fast. Everything feels consistent, but it’s very hot when I’m riding. At the end of 20 laps I was very hot but all in all a good day, and I’m enjoying riding around Buriram.”

Rea will be looking to convert his race simulation into a strong race pace tomorrow, with the lights going out at 16:00LT (+7 GMT), after Superpole at 13:30LT.