Coming straight after the season-opening MXGP of Qatar, round two of the 2016 MXGP season takes Team HRC to Thailand and to the new venue of Suphan Buri and the SuphanBuri Motosport Land.
This promises to be a Grand Prix with a difference, featuring a week of festivities and celebrations headlined by Sunday’s racing. The SuphanBuri Rock Concert runs all week at he dedicated 55-acre venue, whilst from Friday the on-track action is supported by flat track races, a carnival and the ThaiMXGP Fair.
Suphan Buri lies to the north west of Bangkok, and the new track is sculpted in a way similar to the Sri Racha track last used in 2014, just without the stones in the top soil. It’s also set to be a permanent venue, and be open all year long for local and national races.
One thing that will remain the same however is the weather – with the temperature soaring to 37 degrees Celsius and with humidity approaching 50 per cent, endurance and fitness will be tested to the extreme and hydration will never be far from any rider’s mind.
Last year Gautier Paulin took third in qualifying on the CRF450RW, whilst the year before he took a fourth in race one at Sri Racha. That same year, the Team HRC pairing crossed the line in fourth and fifth in race two.
Evgeny Bobryshev 777
“It’s always nice going to new tracks, and especially when they make more of a show of motocross like this weekend. The race was really tough last year because of the heat and the track, but this year the track is new again and I’m feeling very different compared to one year ago. It was great to start the season like we did in Qatar, so now we continue to focus race-by-race and being consistent.”
Gautier Paulin 21
“This weekend we have a new race in Thailand, so after Qatar we come back fighting and start again. It wasn’t the start to the season I was expecting, but I know I’m ready and I’m feeling good so we keep fighting!”
Roger Harvey
HRC General Manager – MXGP
“It’s a new track which they say is not similar to last year’s but more like what we had in 2014. It’s good that YouthStream have taken into consideration the heat and conditions of last year in changing the track layout and style. We’ve received some information on the track and the ground from Honda’s R&D department in Thailand which will help us a little to prepare. We started the season well in Qatar, so now look to capitalise upon that.”
Rider Standings
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Points | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gajser Tim | 243 | SLO | 50 | Honda Gariboldi |
| 2 | Febvre Romain | 461 | FRA | 42 | Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team |
| 3 | Bobryshev Evgeny | 777 | RUS | 42 | Team HRC |
| 4 | Van Horebeek Jeremy | 89 | BEL | 34 | Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team |
| 5 | Cairoli Antonio | 222 | ITA | 33 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing |
| 6 | Simpson Shaun | 24 | GBR | 30 | Wilvo Virus Performance KTM |
| 7 | Coldenhoff Glenn | 259 | NDL | 25 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing |
| 8 | Searle Tommy | 100 | GBR | 25 | Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki |
| 9 | Strijbos Kevin | 22 | BEL | 25 | Team Suzuki World MXGP |
| 10 | Nagl Max | 12 | GER | 24 | Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing |
| 11 | Townley Ben | 8 | NZL | 20 | Team Suzuki World MXGP |
| 12 | Guillod Valentin | 92 | SWI | 16 | Kemea Yamaha Yamalube Racing Team |
| 13 | Butron Jose | 17 | SPA | 14 | Marchetti Racing Team KTM |
| 14 | Leok Tanel | 40 | EST | 13 | Wildcard Rider |
| 15 | Potisek Milko | 32 | FRA | 13 | Tip Top MP32 Racing Team |
| 16 | Paulin Gautier | 21 | FRA | 11 | Team HRC |
| 17 | Lupino Alessandro | 77 | ITA | 8 | Team Honda Red Moto Assomotor |
| 18 | Charlier Christophe | 23 | FRA | 8 | Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing |
| 19 | Yamamoto Kei | 400 | JPN | 5 | Team Honda Red Moto Assomotor |
| 20 | Desalle Clement | 25 | BEL | 3 | Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing |
| 21 | Snow Alex | 31 | GBR | 1 | JK Racing Yamaha Active |