15-19 – Thai GP – Schedules and challenges of the 2018 MotoGP Thailand GP –

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Schedules and challenges of the 2018 MotoGP Thailand GP

15-19 - Thai GP - Schedules and challenges for the 2018 MotoGP Thailand GP -

MNC presents the schedules, the challenges and the program of the MotoGP Thai GP, 15th round of the 2018 world championship to follow this weekend, but the first Grand Prix contested on the Buriram circuit which has hosted the WorldSBK since 2015. Presentation.

Once is not customary, you will not find in this presentation of the GP of Thailand the previous Grands Prix. And for good reason: MotoGP sets its wheels for the first time on the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, in the south of the country.

  • MNC special file :
  • MotoGP 2018 season :

This weekend, the drivers and the teams will therefore have to quickly take their marks on this track which hosts the, but where they have already done this winter during the offseason..

15-19 - Thai GP - Schedules and challenges for the 2018 MotoGP Thailand GP -

Recall that three Honda riders – Cal Crutchlow, Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa – were particularly comfortable there by signing successively and respectively the best lap times of, and .

Should we conclude that this is a circuit favorable to Honda? Not necessarily … Because during these tests, only three drivers managed to run under the 1’30 mark: Marc Marquez, Dani Pedrosa and … Johann Zarco! But it was "at the time", before the Yamaha were like at the back, and even …

Marquez: "It will be necessary to remain calm and concentrated"

"It’s going to be exciting to race in Thailand for the first time", impatiently Marc Marquez: "there will be lots of fans in the stands, which is always nice".

"However, we will have to remain calm and focused," proclaims the reigning world champion and leader of the provisional classification, "because it is important to manage the weekend well by working from start to finish, as usual. did some good tests in February but every detail will have to be confirmed from Friday morning. Some parts of the circuit are tricky, but the overall layout is good. The high humidity will certainly be physically demanding, but when you get on the bike we forget all that and we focus on driving ".

Dovizioso: "We are much more competitive than at the start of the season"

"The Buriram circuit is very strange and we have never raced there, so it will be new for everyone," said Andrea Dovizioso, 2nd in the championship with 174 points. "During the tests in February we did pretty well, but now I think we’re a lot more competitive than at the start of the season".

"We will have to see depending on the weather because it could be hotter than in Malaysia and that will have repercussions on the race, but above all it seems that the rainy season has already started so anything can happen", warns the Ducati rider.

Rossi: "Rediscovering the fight for the podium"

"After many European races, it’s time to go to Thailand where we did pre-season testing in February," notes Valentino Rossi, who has never hidden his calendar….

15-19 - Thai GP - Schedules and challenges for the 2018 MotoGP Thailand GP -

"Buriram is not among my favorite circuits, but it will be another important weekend to improve our bike and a good opportunity to meet the Asian fans, who are passionate about MotoGP. As always, we will do our best to ensure that the weekend is going well. My goal is to be able to find myself in a fight for the podium and achieve good results during the Asian tour ".

Lorenzo: "I don’t even know if I will be able to put on my boots"…

"Not only did the fall in Aragón ruin my race, but it also compromises this weekend at Buriram because I am not yet fully recovered", regrets Jorge Lorenzo, 4th with 130 points: "my foot is still very swollen and I don’t know how much pain I will have, or even if I will be able to put my boots on, but I want to try riding here in Thailand "…

"I am still disappointed because I had very high ambitions for the MotorLand race, but I can do nothing but try to give the maximum in the last five races of the season", notes the future teammate by Marquez at Honda. "You have to stay positive and even though the pre-season tests here at Buriram didn’t go very well for me, the situation has changed a lot during the season".

Zarco: "Now is the right time to regain a decent position"

"The Chang International Circuit is a great circuit that I was able to discover in February when we did tests", confirms Johann Zarco today: "my last memory of this track is rather positive, so it could be the right one moment to reconnect with good feelings, find a decent position and fight again with the fast pilots "…

15-19 - Thai GP - Schedules and challenges for the 2018 MotoGP Thailand GP -

"I would love to be competitive on this circuit," continues the Tech3 driver, currently 8th in the championship with 112 points. "It felt good there and no one else has done any other tests since then so they might have a little less advantage than in the last few races. I’m happy to go. We’re starting a long one. travel with almost four races in a row, so it will be important to manage my physique and my mind well ".

"Everyone is waiting for the GP of Thailand in Buriram", declared for his part the team manager of Tech3. “The winter tests went really well. It will be an exciting round for sure, but it’s a bit of uncharted territory. Johann flew through the tests this winter, he was the fastest pilot at the end! Dani Pedrosa passed it by a few thousandths when we were already heading back to Bangkok ".

Poncharal: "I hope we have something to celebrate on Sunday afternoon"

"The feeling was perfect, but unfortunately it was February and since then a lot has changed … Several bikes have improved so we don’t really know what to expect in terms of competitiveness against our competitors. The Thai fans are very enthusiastic and the atmosphere is going to be incredible. I think we will not forget this first Grand Prix of Thailand, which will certainly be very special ".

"The track is OK, some riders find it a bit boring but ours love it. It’s safe and the paddock is big enough to accommodate everyone professionally, so we can’t wait to be there and enjoy it with our fans. Of course it’s a very important market for motorcycle manufacturers, including Yamaha, so we’ll have a lot of marketing and PR to do, but it’s nice to go into a new place. I hope that Johann and Hafizh will wear the colors of Monster Yamaha Tech3 very high and that we will have something to celebrate on Sunday afternoon "…

On the tire side, this "virgin" territory also appears to be a challenge, but luckily "we gleaned valuable information during our tests at Buriram", indicates the two-wheeler manager at Michelin Motorsport. "We are bringing specific rear tires for this race, specially designed for this track, as we do in Austria and Australia because these are very atypical circuits which require special tires".

"Maybe the monsoon will upset all of our plans"…

“These rear tires were developed after testing,” continues Piero Taramasso, “but previously we had to announce our allocation with two mediums, which will allow us to choose which one is best suited and will help us put together the package for the next year. It will also give riders the best options to get the best out of their machines. But eventually, maybe the monsoon will upset all our plans … In this case, the Michelin Power Rain range should allow us to outsmart the vagaries of the weather "….

To be continued on MNC: stay connected…

Buriram Circuit (Thailand)

15-19 - Thai GP - Schedules and challenges for the 2018 MotoGP Thailand GP -

2018 MotoGP Thailand Grand Prix schedule (French time)

Friday, October 5, 2018

  • 04:00 – 04:40: FP1 Moto3 free practice
  • 04:55 – 05:40: FP1 MotoGP free practice
  • 05:55 – 06:40: FP1 Moto2 free practice
  • 08:10 – 08:50: FP2 Moto3 free practice
  • 09:05 – 09:50: FP2 MotoGP free practice
  • 10:05 – 10:50: FP2 Moto2 free practice

Saturday 6 October 2018

  • 04:00 – 04:40: FP3 Moto3 free practice
  • 04:55 – 05:40: FP3 MotoGP free practice
  • 05:55 – 06:40: FP3 Moto2 free practice
  • 07:35 – 08:15: Moto3 qualifying practice
  • 08:30 – 09:00: FP4 MotoGP
  • 09:10 – 09:25: Qualifying practice Q1 MotoGP
  • 09:35 – 09:50: Qualifying practice Q2 MotoGP
  • 10:05 – 10:50: Moto2 qualifying practice

Sunday October 7, 2018

  • 03:40 – 04:00: Warm up Moto3
  • 04:10 – 04:30: Warm up Moto2
  • 04:40 – 05:00: Warm up MotoGP
  • 06:00: Moto3 race
  • 07:20: Moto2 race
  • 09:00: MotoGP race

General classification before the GP of Thailand

  1. Marc MARQUEZ Honda SPA (246 points)
  2. Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati ITA (174 points)
  3. Valentino ROSSI Yamaha ITA (159 points)
  4. Jorge LORENZO Ducati SPA (130 points)
  5. Maverick VIÑALES Yamaha SPA (130 points)
  6. Cal CRUTCHLOW Honda GBR (119 points)
  7. Danilo PETRUCCI Ducati ITA (119 points)
  8. Johann ZARCO Yamaha FRA (112 points)
  9. Andrea IANNONE Suzuki ITA (108 points)
  10. Alex RINS Suzuki SPA (92 points)
  11. Dani PEDROSA Honda SPA (87 points)
  12. Jack MILLER Ducati AUS (68 points)
  13. Alvaro BAUTISTA Ducati SPA (64 points)
  14. Tito RABAT Ducati SPA (35 points)
  15. Pol ESPARGARO KTM SPA (32 points)
  16. Franco MORBIDELLI Honda ITA (31 points)
  17. Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia SPA (29 points)
  18. Hafizh SYAHRIN Yamaha MAL (24 points)
  19. Bradley SMITH KTM GBR (18 points)
  20. Takaaki NAKAGAMI Honda JPN (18 points)
  21. Scott REDDING Aprilia GBR (12 points)
  22. Mika KALLIO KTM FIN (6 points)
  23. Karel ABRAHAM Ducati CZE (5 points)
  24. Michele PIRRO Ducati ITA (1 point)
  25. Thomas LUTHI Honda SWI
  26. Stefan BRADL Honda GER
  27. Xavier SIMEON Ducati BEL
  28. Sylvain GUINTOLI Suzuki FRA
  29. Jordi TORRES Ducati SPA
  30. Christophe PONSSON Ducati FRA

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