In Thailand Rea Takes Race 1 of WorldSBK, the Pirelli SC0 standard solution chosen by all the riders for the rear allows an improvement of almost one second per lap compared with last year

With the standard soft tyre the Kawasaki World Champion also takes Superpole ^®, setting a new track record, breaking his old one from 2015, set then with a qualifying tyre, by more than four tenths In Thailand at the Chang International Circuit of Buriram the first race of the FIM World Superbike Championship weekend has just ended. Winning WorldSBK Race 1 was the Kawasaki Racing Team rider Jonathan Rea who, with this win, now has a total of three victories from the season start after his double win in the opening round at Phillip Island in Australia.

Rea action	Davies action

For Pirelli, satisfaction and an excellent season début for the rear SC0, the softest solution in the range that currently has demonstrated performance similar to those that were imaginable in 2015 only with a super soft qualifying tyre. Compared to the 2015 and 2016 races, the 2017 soft tyre allowed an 8 tenths of a second improvement in the race, a result that could have been achieved in the past only using a super soft qualifying tyre, proof of the excellent progress made by Pirelli in just two years.

Rea at the finish line	Sykes e Davies action

 

Rea's potential was clear from Friday when the Kawasaki Racing Team rider consistently dominated all three free practice sessions, lapping straight away below 1’34 and finally dropping below 1’33 in the last session. As mentioned, in Superpole^® today, using a standard soft compound tyre on the rear, Rear also took pole position, improving on his old track record by four tenths. He had set the previous record in 2015, but on that occasion he had used a super soft qualifying tyre.

Sykes action	Umbrella girls

The race was set at twenty laps for a total of 91.08 kilometres to ride. In Race 1, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) started well from pole position with Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) behind him, gaining a position, and Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) dropping one in favour of the Italian. Fourth place went to the other Ducati rider, Chaz Davies, who got the upper hand against Alex Lowes. During the fifth lap, Chaz Davies overtook Sykes to move in behind his teammate. In the eighth lap Ayrton Badovini had an accident that forced him to retire. In the meantime, already at the race midway point, the Northern Irishman managed to pull the pin and move away from the rest of the group, leaving the Ducatis ridden by Melandri and Davies more than three seconds behind. From the thirteenth lap it was a battle for second place between the two Aruba.it Racing – Ducati riders, with Davies drawing closer and closer to number 33 until the next lap when he managed to get the better of him. The race held no further surprises until the final lap when Eugene Laverty was forced to withdraw just ahead of the finish and Tom Sykes succeeded in overtaking Marco Melandri to finish on the bottom step of the podium. Thanks to his fourth place finish, Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) will start from pole position tomorrow.

Race 1 Pordium	Race 1 Pordium

 

WorldSBK Race 1 standings: 1) J. Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) 2) C. Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 3) T. Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) 4) M. Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 5) M. Van Der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) 6) A. Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) 7) J. Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team) 8 ) L. Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) 9) N.Hayden (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team) 10) S. Bradl (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team) 11) X. Forés (BARNI Racing Team) 12) R. Krummenacher (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) 13) L. Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia) 14) M. Reiterberger (Althea BMW Racing Team) 15) R. Ramos (Team Kawasaki GoEleven) 16) A. De Angelis (Pedercini Racing SC-Project) 17) R. Russo (Guandalini Racing) 18) O. Jezek (Grillini Racing Team) OUT) E. Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) OUT) A. Badovini (Grillini Racing Team) The Pirelli solutions chosen by the riders for WorldSBK Race 1: For this second round of the season, the riders had five slick solutions available to them, three front and two rear, four of which were standard tyres. For the rear, given the high asphalt temperatures, all the riders naturally opted for the standard SC0 (option A), in other words, the softest solution that provides maximum contact on smooth tarmac and maximum traction development at high temperatures, as well as excellent stability and consistency. Choices for the front varied more, mainly depending on riding styles and other elements such as the track layout and asphalt temperature. The standard SC2 (option C), which is the hardest solution, ideal for high temperatures because it ensures compactness of the tread band, as well as more solidity, stability and riding precision going into corners, was the most popular option with fourteen riders using it. Five riders (Melandri, Forés, Torres, Ramos and Badovini) chose the standard SC1 tyre (option B), whereas the only one opting for the S1699 SC1 development solution (option A) was Ducati rider, Chaz Davies.

Tyre selection at the start

 

Pirelli statistics for WorldSBK Race 1: • Winner of the PIRELLI BEST LAP AWARD: Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team),in 1'33.436at the 5^th lap • Most used front solution: standard SC2 (14 out of 20 riders) • Most used rear solution: standard SC0 (20 out of 20 riders) • Maximum race speed reached by Pirelli DIABLO™ Superbike tyres: 306.8 km/h, achieved by Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team) in the 9^th lap • Number of solutions (dry, intermediate and wet) for the Superbike class: 5 front and 4 rear Number of tyres available for each Superbike rider: 62, including 33 front and 29 rear • Air temperature: 35° C • Asphalt temperature: 57° C