Jules Cluzel (NRT) experienced a Sunday full of bad luck in Thailand, as the Frenchman crashed out of the lead on the 12^th lap of 17 and missed out on taking his first FIM Supersport World Championship victory since Magny-Cours in 2016.

In only his second race weekend with his new Yamaha based team, Cluzel had a stunning pace around Chang International Circuit and started from second position on the grid, putting him in a strong position for what was set to be an intense podium fight. However he was able to go one better and was in the battle for the victory, holding onto the lead for 10 laps over the line. But it was on lap 12 when his race came to an abrupt end and he lost the front of his Yamaha R6 machine.

Cluzel talks us through his weekend: “I was in the lead almost every lap and I felt not so bad, I was really fast this morning so I stayed with some margin in the race. When Lucas passed me because I hit a neutral I wanted to see where he was fast, but I was too slow. I said to myself I’d do it and overtake but I couldn’t keep up.”

Explaining the crash, he adds: “For sure the crash was disappointing, I lost the front and maybe put too much on the brakes. As we didn’t get much testing time over the winter, the brakes are new, but I was going for the win or nothing, and now I can be positive.” 

Despite feeling disappointed, Cluzel heads to Europe feeling positive: “I am happy about his weekend, it was really positive. From the first practice we improved a lot, we had a lot to work on from Australia and we made a massive step. I had some problems and they’ve nearly gone, so I want to say thanks to team NRT, they worked really hard.”

See the devastating crash for yourself and follow the stunning action from the MOTUL Thai Round, all with the WorldSBK VideoPass.