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Revisit the best bits and battles of Round Two in Thailand

Tuesday, 7 August 2018 08:45 GMT

    • We step back into the second date of 2018, with Rea and Davies matching efforts and an incredible WorldSSP finish

    After a shocking opening round of 2018, the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship moved over to Thailand one month later with an unprecedented leaderboard and several riders out with a point to prove. A fast, clockwise track 4.554km in length – which you can experience onboard with Leon Camier (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team) – the Chang International Circuit was home to another fascinating round.

    A combination of a field of riders eager to impress and a tough and tricky track led to an above-average number of falls in the opening sessions in Thailand, with crashes for championship leader Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) on Friday and Andrew Irwin (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) on Saturday, while Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team) and Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) came together on day two.

    Crashes and clashes aside, there was plenty of clean racing action on Saturday, with Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) taking his first win of the year in dominant fashion ahead of Fores and Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing Team WorldSBK). Watch the full highlights of how the Northern Irishman took control of the race on the Asian racetrack.

    Sunday was a completely different affair however, as Rea missed out on a Kawasaki-less podium. This time Davies who scored a magisterial win ahead of the two Pata Yamaha riders, making it three wins out of four for the Panigale. Relive all the action from Race Two, including how the Welshman opened his tally for the season, and see how he celebrated afterwards.

    With both WorldSBK winners taking their respective leads in the early stages of the race, WorldSSP provided a different spectacle altogether, with five different riders inside a second and vying for control of the top spot for most of the race. The front two from Phillip Island led the way into the final lap, Randy Krummenacher (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) desperately clinging on to first place at the flag ahead of Lucas Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team). A thrilling end to the tale which you can relive here in full here.

    Head back and relive the best moments from the Motul Thai Round thanks to WorldSBK VideoPass.