Leon Camier (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team) was involved in three highly entertaining scraps before eventually dropping outside of the podium positions in Race One of the Motul Thai Round.  Having qualified on the front row of the grid for the first time since 2012, Camier put in a strong defensive ride in an attempt to claim his first top-three race finish in five years, and only missed out on the penultimate lap.

“We had a podium opportunity there and I couldn´t quite make it work”, he acknowledged.  “Good work by the team, absolutely awesome job.  We´ve been chasing our tails a little bit all weekend trying to find the right feeling with the bike, and they sort of got it right in the last second, so it was perfect.  A few areas we were losing, which is something we need to work on for the future, but all in all we have to be happy – it was good to be in second place, fighting at the front.  We need to keep working away, keep improving.”

Reflecting on the overtake that saw him finally drop out of the podium positions, Camier reflects: “I was just trying as hard as I could.  Me and Chaz are really good friends and neighbours off the track, so it was cool - obviously you only want to race fair anyway.  When he came past me I thought maybe I could turn back underneath him and get back on him, but he held it really tight and I couldn´t.  So I hope to get him back for sure.”

Camier will have another opportunity to secure his tenth career podium when he starts from pole position in #THAIWorldSBK Race Two, live on the WorldSBK VideoPass at 16:00 local time (10:00 GMT).