Free practice
Sylvain Guintoli and Alex Lowes claimed second and fourth positions respectively for the Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team at a hot and humid Chang International Circuit this afternoon.
Securing their direct qualification into tomorrow's Superpole 2, Guintoli and Lowes put on a confident display as the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship returned to Buriram for round two's opening free practice action.
With the track newly resurfaced, both Yamaha riders began the first session carefully, evaluating the conditions on their respective YZF-R1's. The Frenchman completed the morning in seventh, his best lap a 1'36.884, while his British teammate's 1'36.994 followed closely behind in ninth.
As the track temperatures soared to 45°C, the afternoon's times tumbled. Lowes hit the mark early in the second session jumping to second with his first fast lap and holding fifth for the opening 20 minutes. At the half way point Guintoli advanced his time to 1'36.0 to take a top-five position. The final minutes of the afternoon proved even more fruitful for the Yamaha riders; Lowes' fastest lap - 1'35.224 - saw him eventually close the session in fourth, while Guintoli became one of only two riders to break the 1'35 barrier, securing second with a 1'34.811 on his final quick lap.
The Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team returns to Buriram at 10:45hrs local time tomorrow for the final 15 minutes of free practice ahead of Superpole qualifying and the first race of the weekend at 16:00hrs local time.
