KTMphil
Senior member
Luke Stokes Takes R2M SuperNaked Round One
Luke from Chiang Mai, Thailand wins the event.
[attachment=0:1g3u62c7]luke r m 2.jpg[/attachment:1g3u62c7]
Photo: Hyperpro 1982
By Barry Russell, Media Consultant, FMSCT-Live
The R2M SuperNaked series got off to an exciting start on Sunday.
With 12 riders having registered and tested in the build up for the first race, six bikes took to the grid on Sunday. Kawasaki’s ER6 is shaping up to be the bike of choice for the twisty, technical Thailand Circuit in the up to 750cc class, with three on the starting line, together with a Buell Firebolt and a Yamaha Fazer 1000 in the up to 1300cc class and a lone Suzuki in the 400cc category.
It was the Kawasaki of Luke Stokes that got the hole-shot from the second row to lead out of the first corner and quickly built a gap ahead of Vichan Pimthum’s Buell, the Kawasakis of Colin Butler and Tony Nisam, Arlit Youratsameejan’s Yamaha and ‘Boy’ Churtchai Vongliang’s Suzuki. The fierce battle for second on the track between Vichean and Butler allowed the Englishman ahead of them to extend his lead, with another gap back to Nisam in fourth who was able to pull away from the powerful but heavy handling Yamaha of Arlit and Boy’s Suzuki, which was unable to make an impression on the more powerful bikes in front.
With three laps to go, Nisam began to close on the battle in front of him and was in touch as they began the final lap. Vichan and Butler continued to swap positions through the last few corners and at the chequered flag Stokes was 13.4 of Vichean who crossed the line 0.34 seconds ahead of Butler with Nisam 1.2 seconds behind his fellow American.
The up to 750cc podium was therefore Stokes, Butler and Nisam, the 1300cc podium Vichan and Arlit, with Boy taking the 400cc podium alone.
Commenting on his overall victory, Luke Stokes said, “I couldn’t believe the difference in temperature between this morning’s warm-up and the race: it was so hot this afternoon. I got my head down and built a gap from the start, but as the race went on the rear was spinning up more and more out as I came out of the corners. It was good fun though and I’m really pleased with the win.”
Colin Butler said, “Grip was definitely a problem in today’s heat, but the battle with the Buell was great fun. It had so much more power on the straights and was clearly handling pretty well too.”
Tony Nisam added, “I was trying to catch Colin and Vichean, but couldn’t push the front any harder: I even lost the front once but managed to pick it up on my knee. I’ll fit a new tyre for the next race and see what happens.”
Reflecting on the initial success of the Kawasakis, Stokes noted, “The ER6 is perfect for this series and this circuit. It’s made in Thailand, so it’s cheap to buy and, if you throw it down the road, you can just go into your local dealer and get the replacement parts without having to wait for them to be shipped from abroad with all the additional expense.”
The next round will be on 16-17 July at the Thailand Circuit.
Link to the RM 2 website is here:
http://blog.fmsct-live.com/2011/05/24/l ... px?ref=rss
Luke from Chiang Mai, Thailand wins the event.
[attachment=0:1g3u62c7]luke r m 2.jpg[/attachment:1g3u62c7]
Photo: Hyperpro 1982
By Barry Russell, Media Consultant, FMSCT-Live
The R2M SuperNaked series got off to an exciting start on Sunday.
With 12 riders having registered and tested in the build up for the first race, six bikes took to the grid on Sunday. Kawasaki’s ER6 is shaping up to be the bike of choice for the twisty, technical Thailand Circuit in the up to 750cc class, with three on the starting line, together with a Buell Firebolt and a Yamaha Fazer 1000 in the up to 1300cc class and a lone Suzuki in the 400cc category.
It was the Kawasaki of Luke Stokes that got the hole-shot from the second row to lead out of the first corner and quickly built a gap ahead of Vichan Pimthum’s Buell, the Kawasakis of Colin Butler and Tony Nisam, Arlit Youratsameejan’s Yamaha and ‘Boy’ Churtchai Vongliang’s Suzuki. The fierce battle for second on the track between Vichean and Butler allowed the Englishman ahead of them to extend his lead, with another gap back to Nisam in fourth who was able to pull away from the powerful but heavy handling Yamaha of Arlit and Boy’s Suzuki, which was unable to make an impression on the more powerful bikes in front.
With three laps to go, Nisam began to close on the battle in front of him and was in touch as they began the final lap. Vichan and Butler continued to swap positions through the last few corners and at the chequered flag Stokes was 13.4 of Vichean who crossed the line 0.34 seconds ahead of Butler with Nisam 1.2 seconds behind his fellow American.
The up to 750cc podium was therefore Stokes, Butler and Nisam, the 1300cc podium Vichan and Arlit, with Boy taking the 400cc podium alone.
Commenting on his overall victory, Luke Stokes said, “I couldn’t believe the difference in temperature between this morning’s warm-up and the race: it was so hot this afternoon. I got my head down and built a gap from the start, but as the race went on the rear was spinning up more and more out as I came out of the corners. It was good fun though and I’m really pleased with the win.”
Colin Butler said, “Grip was definitely a problem in today’s heat, but the battle with the Buell was great fun. It had so much more power on the straights and was clearly handling pretty well too.”
Tony Nisam added, “I was trying to catch Colin and Vichean, but couldn’t push the front any harder: I even lost the front once but managed to pick it up on my knee. I’ll fit a new tyre for the next race and see what happens.”
Reflecting on the initial success of the Kawasakis, Stokes noted, “The ER6 is perfect for this series and this circuit. It’s made in Thailand, so it’s cheap to buy and, if you throw it down the road, you can just go into your local dealer and get the replacement parts without having to wait for them to be shipped from abroad with all the additional expense.”
The next round will be on 16-17 July at the Thailand Circuit.
Link to the RM 2 website is here:
http://blog.fmsct-live.com/2011/05/24/l ... px?ref=rss
