The penultimate triple weekend of MotoGP concludes with the Thai Grand Prix. Jorge Martin certainly needs to reduce his current deficit if he wants to stay in contention for the world title, but Francesco Bagnaia has repeatedly said that this is a suitable position for him.
After the rounds at Mandalika and Phillip Island, the penultimate triple weekend of MotoGP follows. The field returns to the Asian continent, and drivers compete once again in the Thai Grand Prix. After that, a free weekend will follow, so they can focus on the final hair, but let’s not rush too much!
The track is located in Buriram Province, including the city of the same name (the name means “city of happiness” in Hungarian), about 410 kilometers from Bangkok. As is usual for modern asphalt strips, it was built based on Hermann Tilke’s plans in 2014, but the King’s Class only visited the site for the first time in 2018. Three races have been held so far with the 2020 and 2021 races canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Marc Márquez won two of them, making him the most successful competitor on the track. Miguel Oliveira won last year’s race, which was held in wet conditions.
Chang International Circuit, Buriram – Official Map #Thailand #break pic.twitter.com/oA8sJ0PbEr
— 또타레 🍒 (@PsychoKaythie13) September 24, 2014
As for the layout, the track, which has seven right turns and five left turns, is 4.554 kilometers long and 12 meters wide. The lap record is held by Marco Pizzicchi with a time of 1:29.961 seconds, with which he took first place last year. The fastest race lap is even older, with Márquez setting a lap of 1:30.904 in 2019. The speed record is also held by Johann Zarco as of 2022. In this regard, it should be noted that the section between the finish line and turns 3 and 4 is not very long, but The section between Turns 1 and 3 is already one kilometer long. Although there is officially a turn here, it is actually just a break, and riders do not brake at this point, but go through it at full speed.
The weather won’t make things easier for the pilots this time either, although it will present different challenges to them than on Phillip Island. Although we have already entered the autumn season, the temperature there is also very high: according to the forecast, the temperature will be above 35 degrees all the time, and the humidity will be very high, just like the weekend in Indonesia. Mostly rain is expected on Friday, which could make it difficult for teams and manufacturers to prepare.
As for the title competition, Francesco Bagnaia leads Jorge Martin by 27 points. The former Ducati factory rider stated that there are now two tracks that he believes are in his favour. As for Buriram International Circuit, he won at this venue in 2018 as a Moto2 driver, and finished third in qualifying and the race last year.
“I am happy to be back in Thailand, where the enthusiasm and passion of the audience is always incredible,” he said. -Japan, Indonesia and Australia, [vagyis] After the tracks where we struggled last year, it’s good to race again in places where we were usually fast. Last year we raced in difficult and rainy conditions and were competitive and finished third on the podium. The weather will be uncertain this year as well, but I’m confident I can perform well in all conditions. I can’t wait to get to the stadium in Buriram.
Bagnaya warns of the upcoming races, but he has to change something
Bagnaia’s argument that this might be “his territory” falls flat as he lost to Martin in last year’s qualifying, and although he beat him in the race, it was not representative due to the wet conditions. The Pramac rider will have to beat the reigning champion once again, as he has lost important points due to mistakes in the last two weekends. But based on the pace he has shown in recent weeks, he is capable of flying the flag, and has already proven once that he can overturn a 66-point deficit.
Of course, we still have to wait for the individual tournament to be determined mathematically, as well as for the field in any competition to be completed. Alex Rins has accepted the procedure again, and after his successful return to Indonesia, he withdrew again after Friday in Australia. According to the Spanish competitor, the cause of the pain has been determined, and he will be forced to miss the current round due to minor interference.
In the MotoGP World Championship, it will almost certainly be determined mathematically that one of the Ducati riders will win the individual championship again. This could actually happen in the sprint race if Brad Binder doesn’t score at least 11 more points than Bagnaia. More importantly, the Moto2 individual world championship title has already been decided, and Pedro Acosta’s supremacy over Tony Arbolino may become elusive. This requires one of the following scenarios to occur.
Thai Grand Prix weekend schedule
| Friday | ||
| 4:00 – 4:35 | Moto3 | 1. Training |
| 4:50 – 5:30 | Moto2 | 1. Training |
| 5:45 – 6:30 | Motor cycles | 1. Free training |
| 8:15 – 8:50 | Moto3 | 2. Training |
| From 9:05 AM to 9:45 AM | Moto2 | 2. Training |
| 10:00 – 11:00 | Motor cycles | an exercise |
| Saturday | ||
| 3:40 – 4:10 | Moto3 | 3. Training |
| 4:25 – 4:55 | Moto2 | 3. Training |
| 5:10 – 5:40 | Motor cycles | 2. Free training |
| 5:50 – 6:05 | Motor cycles | 1. Timer |
| 6:15 – 6:30 | Motor cycles | 2. Timer |
| 7:50 – 8:05 | Moto3 | 1. Timer |
| 8:15 – 8:30 | Moto3 | 2. Timer |
| 8:45 – 9:00 | Moto2 | 1. Timer |
| 9:10 – 9:25 | Moto2 | 2. Timer |
| 10:00 AM | Motor cycles | Sprint Race |
| Sunday | ||
| 4:40 – 4:50 | Motor cycles | Heating |
| 06:00 | Moto3 | race |
| 7:15 AM | Moto2 | race |
| 09:00 | Motor cycles | race |
