The Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team were on the attack early on in the Thailand Grand Prix weekend. With dry conditions in FP1 and FP2, Manuel Gonzalez and Keminth Kubo were determined to use the opportunity to the fullest to get some hot laps in. They took 19th and 22nd in the combined timesheets.
Gonzalez needed a little bit of time to get familiar with the Chang International Circuit, which is a completely new track for him. The tarmac was drying throughout the session, and as it did, the Spaniard‘s times dropped accordingly. A 1‘37.658s put him in 13th place.
The rookie sensation showed further time improvements in the afternoon. Despite having only just recovered from an shoulder injury sustained during the Japanese GP weekend, there were no signs of him taking it easy. Having taken a liking to the Thai circuit, he put in 20 more laps and set a 1‘37.325s on his final try to take 18th place in the FP2 results. He is in 19th position in the combined Friday timesheets.
Kubo showed his determination to impress the Thai fans early on in the session. Feeling right at home at the Buriram circuit, the local hero was pushing early on and climbed as high as sixth place before the time attacks started in the final stages of the session. He completed FP1 in 22nd place with a 1‘38.211s.
The number-81 rider kept up his strong performance level in the afternoon. Riding in the sunshine with some blue skies, he was in his element, holding provisional 12th position. He was keen to make more waves in the final minutes, but a crash ended his chances of climbing further up the leader board. He ended the day in 22nd place in the FP2 and combined rankings, with a 1‘37.465s best time.
Productive Dry Friday Sessions for Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team in Thailand
Productive Dry Friday Sessions for Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team in Thailand
The Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team started their Thailand Grand Prix efforts with full energy. Manuel Gonzalez and Keminth Kubo made the most of the unexpected dry FP1 and FP2 conditions and secured 19th and 22nd respectively in the combined timesheets.
Sports Director
"Manu had a great feeling this morning, both with the new track and with his shoulder. Luckily, he had recovered well. I'm happy because he was riding fast, but in the afternoon, he couldn't find good space on track to do a fast lap. I think he could have done better, but we know he's fast because his ideal time would have put him in place 12+1. I really like Kubo's focus and attitude this weekend. He's happy to be at home, and it shows. He knows he can do well here, and he is working hard. Kubo likes wet conditions, so when FP1 started with wet track conditions he felt comfortable. The track then started to dry and became more half wet half dry, but his lap times were still good. He was high up the rankings at that point, so that was a confidence boost. He was pushing a lot, and though he dropped a few positions at the end of the session, we were still pleased with the result. FP2 was more or less the same. Because he's feeling really confident, he was pushing more and more. It's a shame the crash ended his session early, but overall, we are very happy with the improved performance level he's showing this weekend."
Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team
"Today we saw some good things. The feeling with the bike was already nice in FP1. For FP2 we made some small changes, and we improved a bit. The final position was not what we wanted, and we know it was possible to do a top 10, but I wasn't able to get a fast lap in at the end. If it doesn‘t rain tomorrow, we can do a top result."
Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team
"The weather in FP1 was tricky. The track was half wet, and it was quite difficult to push. FP2 was dry, so I tried to push as much as I could, and we improved the lap time a lot compared to FP1. We tried to continue in this way also in the second run with a new tyre. The lap time was becoming better, but I was too rushed. I made a mistake, lost the front, crashed, and finished the session early. Anyway, after this first day, I can still say I'm happy about this result because we made a big step up, and we have further margin to improve tomorrow."
