Gordon Ritchie | March 24, 2018
Leon Camier (Red Bull Honda WorldSBK) ran out a brilliant fourth in race one at Buriram, exceeding his own pre-race predictions of how close he could get to a podium, despite qualifying third quickest in Superpole.
He missed a top three in only his third ever Honda WorldSBK ride by just over 0.8 of a second. He was in contention for a podium right until Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Ducati) passed him with two laps to go.
Leon Camier Exceeds WorldSBK Expectations
“I made a couple of little mistakes in the last few laps,” said Camier. “We were lacking in a couple of little areas where if I did not get it absolutely perfect, they were slipstreaming me and I could not slipstream them. A couple of times it felt like they could make a pass but even if I was sat on their ass I could not catch them. It was hard to hold that pace because I could not manage it.”
For Camier, it is not just an engine thing, as he said after race one, but a few small items together. “It is more of a power thing I think, it is not massive. Slightly more engine power and aerodynamics, we must refine everything so I can attack the race 100 percent. And make a few little fewer mistakes. I tried to stay with Rea, but he had an edge on me in a couple of places and I had a small highside in T1. That cost me a few tenths on that straight, I lost the slipstream and it was game over. But I got some good laps in.”
For race two Camier is now in an ideal starting position. He starts on pole and that may help if Rea or another top rider comes through early in the race, as he and others may help the Honda rider along.
Catching the Kawasakis
“It’s good that Rea and Davies are now further back,” said Camier. “Normally Johnny just needs one lap to be at the front. That’s why I don’t think that’s going to make a huge difference. But starting from pole is not a bad thing.”
All in all, and even with one race to go, it has been a positive weekend in Thailand for Camier. Especially so, as this was yet another track that the Honda appears to work well at.
“We got a lot from the bike today, our package works well,” affirmed Leon. “Before Superpole, we changed something. It worked well with the qualifying tire. If we find one more thing for tomorrow, fine tune it, then you know how racing is, anything is possible.”
Camier tried to sum up just what it meant after having just secured the best results of the current generation WorldSBK Fireblade in just his third Honda race. “Results like this are good for everyone. It is very early days for us yet. As long as we can keep making improvements the way we want and it works then I am looking forward to the rest of the season.”