Van der Mark and Hayden Complete Thai Round with Top 5 Finishes in Race Two
Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2016 5:43 pm
@VanderMark and @Hayden Complete #Thai Round with Top 5 Finishes in #Race Two
The Honda WorldSBK Team concluded the second round of the 2016 FIM Superbike World Championship at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand with Michael van der Mark and Nicky Hayden crossing the line at the end of race two in fourth and fifth places, respectively.
Michael van der MarkzoomMichael van der Mark Michael van der Mark(#60)zoomMichael van der Mark(#60)
Pole-setter van der Mark got a much better start to race two aboard his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP and entered turn one in second place, before running slightly wide at the following corner and having a small collision with Chaz Davies. He tried to stay with the leading duo and kept third place up to the tenth lap, before being overtaken by his Welsh opponent. After a small moment on lap 13, the 23-year-old Dutchman decided to ride his own race to a fourth place finish.
Nicky Hayden had a decent launch from eighth on the grid and battled with the Yamaha duo of Guintoli and Lowes in the first half of the race. As soon as he elevated himself to fifth place and with clear track ahead, the 34-year-old American was able to ride at a far quicker pace, consolidating his position and ending the race on a high note.
The team will now return to its headquarters in The Netherlands to get ready for the first European round of the season, taking place at Spain’s MotorLand Aragón next April 1-3.
Honda Rider Comments
Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Superbike Team)
Race result: 3rd/4th“It was not an easy race but I have to be happy with the result. Pole position, third place in race one and now a fourth place definitely surpass the expectations we had before the round, given the difficulties encountered last year. I’m really happy about the bike and my own pace. We decided not to change the front tire type for race two and, although we knew it was a bit of a gamble, it turned out not to be best choice. I did not have the same feeling as in the previous encounter, but it was a risk we had to take and after all, we have 13 more points to add to our tally.”Nicky Hayden (Honda World Superbike Team)
Race result: DNF/5th“I must say that the bike felt a lot better today. We made a lot of changes overnight and I simply just felt more comfortable, maybe not perfect but surely the improvement was there and was quite a good one. I was able to ride without making mistakes and the bike was perfectly smooth. I didn’t get the best of starts and was not fast enough in the first laps to be aggressive and make passes. As the laps went by I felt more and more comfortable; towards the end I started to set my fastest laps of the race and this is very positive. I would lie if I didn’t say that after the warm up I thought I could have put up a better fight, but nonetheless I learned a lot again and overall it was a good weekend.”Pieter Breddels“Michael had a good first half of the race, then had a moment on lap 13 and the guys ahead were able to gap him a little bit. He had to settle for fourth, because our front tire choice turned out not to be the best one given today’s hotter temperatures. We knew the risks and we can only be happy about how the weekend has gone for him. We made some adjustments to Nicky’s bike settings during the warm up and, given the good results, we decided to keep them for the race. He had a fairly good start and rode comfortably behind the Yamahas in the opening laps. When he got past them he was able to lap considerably faster, and towards the end of the race he was really strong. His fifth place has to be considered as a positive result, he is learning more and more about the bike and how to set it up.”
Nicky HaydenzoomNicky Hayden Nicky Hayden(#69)zoomNicky Hayden(#69)
Hard-earned Podium Finish for Jacobsen in Spectacular Thai WorldSSP Race
PJ Jacobsen and the Honda WorldSSP Team have taken their maiden podium finish of the season at the end of an enthralling, 17-lap race at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand. With the second round of the season over, the 22-year-old American and Honda move up to second place in the riders’ and manufacturers’ standings, respectively.
Jacobsen got the perfect start off fourth place on the grid aboard his Honda CBR600RR as he dived with great confidence into turn one to take the lead. He then pushed hard to maintain his position, despite some fierce competition from Cluzel. In the closing stages of the race, Jacobsen did his utmost to stay at the front of the field, eventually running slightly wide at turn five on the penultimate lap. He then found himself in the middle of the factory Kawasaki duo of Sofuoglu and Krummenacher, exchanging positions with the reigning Champion much to the crowd’s delight.
The three riders crossed the line within four tenths of a second of each other, with Jacobsen claiming third place at the checkered flag.
The next round of the 2016 FIM Supersport World Championship takes place at MotorLand Aragón circuit in Spain on April 1-3.
Honda Rider Comments
Patrick Jacobsen (Honda World Supersport Team)
Race result: 3rd“I didn’t want to walk out of here with a third place trophy, I wanted to win. We were able to lead almost the entire race but at the very end it was really hard to stop and get the bike turning, so I could not attack as hard as I’d wanted to. I’m happy with second place in the standings and we’ll make sure to find that extra bit for Aragon in order to give our very best up to the very last corner.”Pieter Breddels“In this morning’s warm up we tried few changes to the bike that worked out pretty well. PJ’s fastest lap was clearly a good sign for the race. He had an incredible start from fourth place and rode a heroic race, refusing to give up even in the last corners, when it was clear that he had some difficulties. Of course we all wanted to win, especially after leading for the vast majority of the race, but we’re happy with the improvements and with the second place in the championship.”
Patrick JacobsenzoomPatrick Jacobsen
World Superbike and World Supersport 2016
Round 02: Chang International Circuit – Thailand
Superbike Race 1
Rank
Rider (Team)
1 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team)
2 Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team)
3 Michael van der Mark (Honda World Superbike Team)
4 Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati)
5 Markus Reiterberger (Althea BMW Racing Team)
6 Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WSBK Team)
RT Nicky Hayden (Honda World Superbike Team)
Superbike Race 2
Rank
Rider (Team)
1 Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team)
2 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team)
3 Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati)
4 Michael van der Mark (Honda World Superbike Team)
5 Nicky Hayden (Honda World Superbike Team)
6 Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Yamaha Official WSBK Team)
Supersport
Rank
Rider (Team)
1 Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta Reparto Corse)
2 Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing)
3 Patrick Jacobsen (Honda World Supersport Team)
4 Randy Krummenacher (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing)
5 Kyle Smith (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda)
6 Alex Baldolini (Race Department ATK#25)
12 Kevin Wahr (Gemar Balloons - Team Lorini)
13 Glenn Scott (Gemar Balloons - Team Lorini)
14 Luke Stapleford (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda)
17 Federico Caricasulo (Bardahl Evan Bros. Honda Racing)
20 Hikari Okubo (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda)
21 Stefan Hill (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda)
RT Ratthapong Wilairot (A.P.Honda Racing Thailand)
The Honda WorldSBK Team concluded the second round of the 2016 FIM Superbike World Championship at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand with Michael van der Mark and Nicky Hayden crossing the line at the end of race two in fourth and fifth places, respectively.
Michael van der MarkzoomMichael van der Mark Michael van der Mark(#60)zoomMichael van der Mark(#60)
Pole-setter van der Mark got a much better start to race two aboard his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP and entered turn one in second place, before running slightly wide at the following corner and having a small collision with Chaz Davies. He tried to stay with the leading duo and kept third place up to the tenth lap, before being overtaken by his Welsh opponent. After a small moment on lap 13, the 23-year-old Dutchman decided to ride his own race to a fourth place finish.
Nicky Hayden had a decent launch from eighth on the grid and battled with the Yamaha duo of Guintoli and Lowes in the first half of the race. As soon as he elevated himself to fifth place and with clear track ahead, the 34-year-old American was able to ride at a far quicker pace, consolidating his position and ending the race on a high note.
The team will now return to its headquarters in The Netherlands to get ready for the first European round of the season, taking place at Spain’s MotorLand Aragón next April 1-3.
Honda Rider Comments
Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Superbike Team)
Race result: 3rd/4th“It was not an easy race but I have to be happy with the result. Pole position, third place in race one and now a fourth place definitely surpass the expectations we had before the round, given the difficulties encountered last year. I’m really happy about the bike and my own pace. We decided not to change the front tire type for race two and, although we knew it was a bit of a gamble, it turned out not to be best choice. I did not have the same feeling as in the previous encounter, but it was a risk we had to take and after all, we have 13 more points to add to our tally.”Nicky Hayden (Honda World Superbike Team)
Race result: DNF/5th“I must say that the bike felt a lot better today. We made a lot of changes overnight and I simply just felt more comfortable, maybe not perfect but surely the improvement was there and was quite a good one. I was able to ride without making mistakes and the bike was perfectly smooth. I didn’t get the best of starts and was not fast enough in the first laps to be aggressive and make passes. As the laps went by I felt more and more comfortable; towards the end I started to set my fastest laps of the race and this is very positive. I would lie if I didn’t say that after the warm up I thought I could have put up a better fight, but nonetheless I learned a lot again and overall it was a good weekend.”Pieter Breddels“Michael had a good first half of the race, then had a moment on lap 13 and the guys ahead were able to gap him a little bit. He had to settle for fourth, because our front tire choice turned out not to be the best one given today’s hotter temperatures. We knew the risks and we can only be happy about how the weekend has gone for him. We made some adjustments to Nicky’s bike settings during the warm up and, given the good results, we decided to keep them for the race. He had a fairly good start and rode comfortably behind the Yamahas in the opening laps. When he got past them he was able to lap considerably faster, and towards the end of the race he was really strong. His fifth place has to be considered as a positive result, he is learning more and more about the bike and how to set it up.”
Nicky HaydenzoomNicky Hayden Nicky Hayden(#69)zoomNicky Hayden(#69)
Hard-earned Podium Finish for Jacobsen in Spectacular Thai WorldSSP Race
PJ Jacobsen and the Honda WorldSSP Team have taken their maiden podium finish of the season at the end of an enthralling, 17-lap race at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand. With the second round of the season over, the 22-year-old American and Honda move up to second place in the riders’ and manufacturers’ standings, respectively.
Jacobsen got the perfect start off fourth place on the grid aboard his Honda CBR600RR as he dived with great confidence into turn one to take the lead. He then pushed hard to maintain his position, despite some fierce competition from Cluzel. In the closing stages of the race, Jacobsen did his utmost to stay at the front of the field, eventually running slightly wide at turn five on the penultimate lap. He then found himself in the middle of the factory Kawasaki duo of Sofuoglu and Krummenacher, exchanging positions with the reigning Champion much to the crowd’s delight.
The three riders crossed the line within four tenths of a second of each other, with Jacobsen claiming third place at the checkered flag.
The next round of the 2016 FIM Supersport World Championship takes place at MotorLand Aragón circuit in Spain on April 1-3.
Honda Rider Comments
Patrick Jacobsen (Honda World Supersport Team)
Race result: 3rd“I didn’t want to walk out of here with a third place trophy, I wanted to win. We were able to lead almost the entire race but at the very end it was really hard to stop and get the bike turning, so I could not attack as hard as I’d wanted to. I’m happy with second place in the standings and we’ll make sure to find that extra bit for Aragon in order to give our very best up to the very last corner.”Pieter Breddels“In this morning’s warm up we tried few changes to the bike that worked out pretty well. PJ’s fastest lap was clearly a good sign for the race. He had an incredible start from fourth place and rode a heroic race, refusing to give up even in the last corners, when it was clear that he had some difficulties. Of course we all wanted to win, especially after leading for the vast majority of the race, but we’re happy with the improvements and with the second place in the championship.”
Patrick JacobsenzoomPatrick Jacobsen
World Superbike and World Supersport 2016
Round 02: Chang International Circuit – Thailand
Superbike Race 1
Rank
Rider (Team)
1 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team)
2 Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team)
3 Michael van der Mark (Honda World Superbike Team)
4 Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati)
5 Markus Reiterberger (Althea BMW Racing Team)
6 Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WSBK Team)
RT Nicky Hayden (Honda World Superbike Team)
Superbike Race 2
Rank
Rider (Team)
1 Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team)
2 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team)
3 Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati)
4 Michael van der Mark (Honda World Superbike Team)
5 Nicky Hayden (Honda World Superbike Team)
6 Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Yamaha Official WSBK Team)
Supersport
Rank
Rider (Team)
1 Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta Reparto Corse)
2 Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing)
3 Patrick Jacobsen (Honda World Supersport Team)
4 Randy Krummenacher (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing)
5 Kyle Smith (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda)
6 Alex Baldolini (Race Department ATK#25)
12 Kevin Wahr (Gemar Balloons - Team Lorini)
13 Glenn Scott (Gemar Balloons - Team Lorini)
14 Luke Stapleford (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda)
17 Federico Caricasulo (Bardahl Evan Bros. Honda Racing)
20 Hikari Okubo (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda)
21 Stefan Hill (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda)
RT Ratthapong Wilairot (A.P.Honda Racing Thailand)