Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) ace Bryan Staring (Kawasaki BCperformance) has confirmed that he will contest Round 3 of the 2019 Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) at Chang International Circuit (May 31- June 2), continuing in his role as an injury replacement for regular Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team Rider ‘Tingnote’ Thitipong Warokorn , as he did during Round 2 of the ARRC at The Bend Motorsport Park, South Australia.
The West Australian was thrilled to be given another opportunity to race with the team. “I’m really happy to have the opportunity to go, actually!” Staring said. “Unfortunately for ‘Tingnote’, he’s still injured so I hope he’s fit and well as soon as possible. But until that moment comes, I’m really happy to go there and fill in for him.”
Staring had a phenomenal weekend in the ARRC at The Bend alongside his regular ASBK duties, finishing first and a second in the two ARRC races to complement his clean sweep of the three ASBK races that weekend to win four races from five overall. The Kawasaki rider was glowing in his praise of the Thai team, and the feeling appeared to be mutual with a visible contingent of Thai Kawasaki representatives cheering Staring on during his ASBK races. “The team were just so passionate about the racing, and so supportive” Staring enthused. “They got on well not only with myself but got along well with my team. It felt like we shared some good information between us all, and everything about it was really positive, so I’m really happy that my phone rang and I got another crack at it. I’m sure Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team could have put a Japanese rider or another Thai rider on the bike, which probably would have been more convenient for them. But I was happy to get the nod!”
Although Staring acknowledges that the task may be a bit more difficult now that he’s on an unfamiliar track, he is still confident of a good result at Buriram. “I expect that the Thai riders are going to be very strong in their own backyard. But I’m sure I’ve got more than enough experience to be able to learn the track and get up to speed quickly enough. I know the motorbike now, which is a big head start, and being a Thai team they’ve got good experience with the circuit there. Hopefully we’ll get up and running pretty quick and get down to it.”
‘Tingnote’ Thitipong Warokorn was leading the 2019 Asia Road Racing Championship after the first round at Sepang in Malaysia, before being injured riding as a wildcard during the Thai Round of the 2019 FIM World Superbike Championship.
Images courtesy of Cori Mitchell – Fire Thunder Photography
