Team Lorini Honda’s Kyle Smith led the way in a frantic opening free practice for the World Supersport field in Thailand.
Much of FP1 saw Yamaha Thailand Racing wildcards Decha Kraisart and Chalermpol Polamai lead the way despite a crash for the latter at Turn 1 with just over half an hour to go.
With 10 minutes left on the clock, a flurry of quick times started to come in, and CIA Landlords Insurance Honda’s Jules Cluzel was the first to make a move as he took over top spot by just 0.001s.
The French rider’s time at the head of the pack didn’t last for long, however, as Smith put in a blistering lap of 1m38.587s to go two tenths clear. Cluzel held onto second, with Kraisart impressively completing the top three.
GRT Yamaha’s Lucas Mahias leaped up to fourth spot towards the end of the session, with MV Agusta’s PJ Jacobsen rounding out the top five. Cluzel’s team-mate Hikari Okubo was sixth quickest, with Christian Gamarino, Polamai, Federico Caricasulo and Aiden Wagner completing the top 10.
Zulfhami Khairuddin just missed out on a spot inside the top 10 in 11th ahead of Alex Baldolini, Kazuki Watanabe and Kenan Sofuoglu’s replacement at Puccetti for the weekend Thitipong Warokorn. Phillip Island race winner Roberto Rolfo took the chequered flag in 15th.
Britain’s Luke Stapleford endured a tough opening session, as a technical issue 30 minutes in robbed him of track time. The Profile Racing Triumph rider completed just six laps as a result and ended the morning down in 21st.
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