The Honda WorldSBK Team concluded the second round of the 2016 FIM Superbike World Championship at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand with Michael van der Mark and Nicky Hayden crossing the line at the end of race two in fourth and fifth places, respectively.

Pole-setter van der Mark got a much better start to race two aboard his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP and entered turn one in second place, before running slightly wide at the following corner and having a small collision with Chaz Davies. He tried to stay with the leading duo and kept third place up to the tenth lap, before being overtaken by his Welsh opponent. After a small moment on lap 13, the 23-year-old Dutchman decided to ride his own race to a fourth place finish.

Nicky Hayden had a decent launch from eighth on the grid and battled with the Yamaha duo of Guintoli and Lowes in the first half of the race. As soon as he elevated himself to fifth place and with clear track ahead, the 34-year-old American was able to ride at a far quicker pace, consolidating his position and ending the race on a high note.

The team will now return to its headquarters in The Netherlands to get ready for the first European round of the season, taking place at Spain’s MotorLand Aragón next April 1-3.

Michael van der Mark 60 - 4th

It was not an easy race but I have to be happy with the result. Pole position, third place in race one and now a fourth place definitely surpass the expectations we had before the round, given the difficulties encountered last year. I’m really happy about the bike and my own pace. We decided not to change the front tyre type for race two and, although we knew it was a bit of a gamble, it turned out not to be best choice. I did not have the same feeling as in the previous encounter, but it was a risk we had to take and after all, we have 13 more points to add to our tally.

Nicky Hayden 69 -5th

I must say that the bike felt a lot better today. We made a lot of changes overnight and I simply just felt more comfortable, maybe not perfect but surely the improvement was there and was quite a good one. I was able to ride without making mistakes and the bike was perfectly smooth. I didn’t get the best of starts and was not fast enough in the first laps to be aggressive and make passes. As the laps went by I felt more and more comfortable; towards the end I started to set my fastest laps of the race and this is very positive. I would lie if I didn’t say that after the warm up I thought I could have put up a better fight, but nonetheless I learned a lot again and overall it was a good weekend.

Pieter Breddels - Technical Manager

Michael had a good first half of the race, then had a moment on lap 13 and the guys ahead were able to gap him a little bit. He had to settle for fourth, because our front tyre choice turned out not to be the best one given today’s hotter temperatures. We knew the risks and we can only be happy about how the weekend has gone for him. We made some adjustments to Nicky’s bike settings during the warm up and, given the good results, we decided to keep them for the race. He had a fairly good start and rode comfortably behind the Yamahas in the opening laps. When he got past them he was able to lap considerably faster, and towards the end of the race he was really strong. His fifth place has to be considered as a positive result, he is learning more and more about the bike and how to set it up.

Michael van der Mark leads Chaz Davies and the pack early in the race