Reigning World Supersport champion Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) will continue his Rookie WorldSBK campaign at the Pirelli Thai Round, hosted at the Chang International Circuit. The German, who was a revelation across the weekend at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, will ride his Yamaha YZF R1 for the first time in Buriram.

Finishing in eighth place in both Race 1 and 2, with a seventh in the Tissot Superpole Race, Cortese has adapted well to WorldSBK life. Having been to the circuit on just one occasion (last year’s World Supersport race), the former Moto3 World Champion will hope to conquer the unique track.

Speaking ahead of the round, Cortese said: "I can't wait to get back to Thailand. Last year was my first time at the Chang International Circuit, but obviously I was racing in WorldSSP. Now I head back to race there in WorldSBK and I'm looking forward to seeing how the R1 feels on this track. I will just try to learn as quickly as I can,” said the German, currently seventh in the overall WorldSBK standings.

He continued, saying: “We don't have the test prior to the race weekend like we had in Australia for the opening round of the season, which will make it a bit more difficult to find a good initial set up. But in Phillip Island we were working in a good direction and achieved our goal of finishing all three races inside the top ten, so I'm sure that we can continue working in the same way this weekend in Thailand. The heat will be a major factor, with the forecast promising extremely high temperatures, but I'm completely motivated for the weekend ahead, so let's see how it goes.”

Thailand is always one of the most challenging rounds on the World Superbike calendar, with temperatures this weekend set to reach as high as 38 degrees Celcius.

29-year-old Cortese finished fourth in the World Supersport race last season, missing out on the podium by just 1.7s.

Will Cortese be up at the front in Thailand in the WorldSBK class? Find out with our WorldSBK Videopass!