barrygrussell
Senior Member
Published in Racing News Thailand on 31 August 2012 and reproduced here by kind permission
The perfect record of championship leader 'Stamp' Apiwat Wongthananon came to an end at Bira on Sunday in Round 3 of the Motorcycle Mag Road Racing Championships (MMRRC) when Canadian Colin Butler took his maiden pro-superbike win.
Stamp once again took pole position with a best lap of 1'03.240, almost one second ahead of Stokes, with Butler third and 'TheBell' Aekkachai Chiengwong fourth to complete the first row. Fifth and with the best SB-2 time was Panadda Racing's Ben Fortt with a time of 1'05.998, more than one second clear of the immaculate HR Superbike BMW S1000RR of 'Benz' Akarakrit Waraojaruendet, who headed a group of eight riders who recorded times in the 1'07s. Among these was the in-form Swiss veteran Hans Meuhlebach, who qualified 8th on his 600cc Moto2 Suter with a time of 1'07.104.
Panadda's pro-racers had both been unhappy after Qualifying. Luke Stokes said, "I am amazed I qualified second to be honest. It was a frustrating session because with so many bikes out there I was unable to get a single clear lap. The bike is good and I know I can get into the 1'03s, so I am disappointed not to have put that on the record." Butler agreed, adding, "I made some changes to the bike after the last round at Thailand Circuit and, especially with the traffic out there, I have not had time to try them out and get comfortable on the bike. I'm not happy with being in the high 1:04s."
From the start, Stamp got away in front, with TheBell riding shotgun as Butler, Benz and Stokes jostled for position behind, pushing Benz back to fifth to lead the SB-2 pack. However, the race was red-flagged after an incident on lap six and shortened to run over six laps from the re-start. Business as usual in the SB-1 class resumed as the Elf Smart Honda pairing of Stamp and 'TheBell' Aekkachai Chiengwong sprinted ahead of the pack into turn one, chased by Butler, Benz and Stokes. While Stamp began his customary escape, Butler and Stokes dispatched of TheBell and Benz to move up to second and fourth respectively by the end of the first lap.
Butler got clear of TheBell who had to contend with a relentless challenge from Stokes, whose Honda was sliding wildly as he attacked into the corners. The Englishman made a decisive move with a block pass going into turn one on the final lap, causing his rival to lose his momentum and fall back.
Meanwhile the drama of the day unfolded just in front of Butler, as Stamp's Elf Smart Honda, caught out by the the extra warm-up lap, ran out of fuel, letting the 'Flying Canadian' through to take the win 3.8 seconds ahead of his teammate, who was a further 6 seconds ahead of TheBell at the chequered flag.
Behind them, Benz was fourth on the road to take the SB-2 win, just ahead of Japan's Hisashi Miyaura, who was 2.5 seconds clear of Chakrit Srisamai and Ben Fortt, with Natt Prasatnanun a further two seconds behind.
As an ecstatic Panadda Racing garage celebrated their one-two, Butler grinned, "Now I'm happy with the bike! I finally figured out what the problem had been since the crash in R2M Round 1 and changed the complete steering head. It felt good before the red flag and I just built on it from there. This win makes up for a run of problems and disappointing results and I'm looking forward to the next race."
Luke Stokes commented, "That was wild. Not only did I have the battle with Bell, but I was losing pressure in the rear tyre and sliding around everywhere, so it was a tough six laps."
The Superbikes line up against each other again on Sunday 9th September for Round 3 of the R2M championship at Thailand Circuit.
RacingNewsThailand is focused on joining up the dots of the Thai motorsports industry while aiming to promote it regionally and globally. Sign up for free weekly news updates at www.racingnewsthailand.com. For all the latest motorsports news in Thai language please visit Thailand Motorsport online news channel : ????????????????????????????? | Motorsport Lives
The perfect record of championship leader 'Stamp' Apiwat Wongthananon came to an end at Bira on Sunday in Round 3 of the Motorcycle Mag Road Racing Championships (MMRRC) when Canadian Colin Butler took his maiden pro-superbike win.
Stamp once again took pole position with a best lap of 1'03.240, almost one second ahead of Stokes, with Butler third and 'TheBell' Aekkachai Chiengwong fourth to complete the first row. Fifth and with the best SB-2 time was Panadda Racing's Ben Fortt with a time of 1'05.998, more than one second clear of the immaculate HR Superbike BMW S1000RR of 'Benz' Akarakrit Waraojaruendet, who headed a group of eight riders who recorded times in the 1'07s. Among these was the in-form Swiss veteran Hans Meuhlebach, who qualified 8th on his 600cc Moto2 Suter with a time of 1'07.104.
Panadda's pro-racers had both been unhappy after Qualifying. Luke Stokes said, "I am amazed I qualified second to be honest. It was a frustrating session because with so many bikes out there I was unable to get a single clear lap. The bike is good and I know I can get into the 1'03s, so I am disappointed not to have put that on the record." Butler agreed, adding, "I made some changes to the bike after the last round at Thailand Circuit and, especially with the traffic out there, I have not had time to try them out and get comfortable on the bike. I'm not happy with being in the high 1:04s."
From the start, Stamp got away in front, with TheBell riding shotgun as Butler, Benz and Stokes jostled for position behind, pushing Benz back to fifth to lead the SB-2 pack. However, the race was red-flagged after an incident on lap six and shortened to run over six laps from the re-start. Business as usual in the SB-1 class resumed as the Elf Smart Honda pairing of Stamp and 'TheBell' Aekkachai Chiengwong sprinted ahead of the pack into turn one, chased by Butler, Benz and Stokes. While Stamp began his customary escape, Butler and Stokes dispatched of TheBell and Benz to move up to second and fourth respectively by the end of the first lap.
Butler got clear of TheBell who had to contend with a relentless challenge from Stokes, whose Honda was sliding wildly as he attacked into the corners. The Englishman made a decisive move with a block pass going into turn one on the final lap, causing his rival to lose his momentum and fall back.
Meanwhile the drama of the day unfolded just in front of Butler, as Stamp's Elf Smart Honda, caught out by the the extra warm-up lap, ran out of fuel, letting the 'Flying Canadian' through to take the win 3.8 seconds ahead of his teammate, who was a further 6 seconds ahead of TheBell at the chequered flag.
Behind them, Benz was fourth on the road to take the SB-2 win, just ahead of Japan's Hisashi Miyaura, who was 2.5 seconds clear of Chakrit Srisamai and Ben Fortt, with Natt Prasatnanun a further two seconds behind.
As an ecstatic Panadda Racing garage celebrated their one-two, Butler grinned, "Now I'm happy with the bike! I finally figured out what the problem had been since the crash in R2M Round 1 and changed the complete steering head. It felt good before the red flag and I just built on it from there. This win makes up for a run of problems and disappointing results and I'm looking forward to the next race."
Luke Stokes commented, "That was wild. Not only did I have the battle with Bell, but I was losing pressure in the rear tyre and sliding around everywhere, so it was a tough six laps."
The Superbikes line up against each other again on Sunday 9th September for Round 3 of the R2M championship at Thailand Circuit.
RacingNewsThailand is focused on joining up the dots of the Thai motorsports industry while aiming to promote it regionally and globally. Sign up for free weekly news updates at www.racingnewsthailand.com. For all the latest motorsports news in Thai language please visit Thailand Motorsport online news channel : ????????????????????????????? | Motorsport Lives
