A parade from Wat Ratchanatdaram to the Giant Swing, and then some extra local flavour, gets the OR Thailand Grand Prix underway in style
It’s very nearly time for the OR Thailand Grand Prix, but before the action opens in Buriram, MotoGP™ took to the streets of Bangkok. First off, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™), Joan Mir (Repsol Honda Team) and Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) were joined by home hero Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) and Thai wildcards Tatchakorn Buasri (Honda Team Asia) and Krittapat Keankum (Yamaha Racing Thailand BOE) for a parade through Bangkok, from Wat Ratchanatdaram to the emblematic Giant Swing.
First, the riders visited the temple before heading off on their bikes, and then there was a machinery switch to the emblematic Tuk Tuk for a slightly slower speed lap.
After that, the next challenge had plenty of local flavour too, none of which was metaphorical. The riders paired into teams for a cooking challenge: the inaugural Pad Thai Grand Prix hosted at the Rajapruek Club. Under the watchful eye of Kratip Chawallakorn Wanthanapisitkul, a well known chef in Thailand, the riders learned how to make classic Pad Thai… and then had to make their own and put it to a taste test.
To conclude an awesome day, the vote went to the fans at the event to see who made the best dish. And the winners were… Morbidelli and Buasri!
Now we head for Buriram and the awesome Chang International Circuit, with the riders sure to cook up a different kind of storm. Tune in for the OR Thailand Grand Prix this weekend as the title fight arrives split by 27 points, the action keeps hotting up… and the home heroes prepare to thrill the home crowd!
FABIO QUARTARARO: “It was nice to make a few laps of the city, and a nice event. You know, cooking isn’t my speciality but I did my best and hopefully it tastes… not so bad!
“Hopefully this year will be better than last year, last year it was a bit of a nightmare in the wet but we know we have potential in the dry. There are a lot of accelerations but I’ll give 100% and try and get a great result here in Thailand.”
JOAN MIR: “I enjoyed it a lot, Thailand is a really nice place, every year I come I enjoy it even more and get to know it more. It was nice, and with the bikes, then the Pad Thai competition. It was really enjoyable.
“This is one of the special weekends, it’s a track I really enjoy and I wasn’t able to race here last year, only in 2019. It’s a track I want to continue understanding a bit more and we’ll see if we’re able to enjoy it and be in front.”
FRANCO MORBIDELLI: “It was a nice day, we rode through the city and it was nice to ride an R1 through the middle of Bangkok! Then the tuk tuk, that was a pleasant time. But I’m not a chef, I’m not a great cook! My girlfriend is. But I do eat Thai food when I’m home.
“The weekend is one I’ve been waiting for, tyres are gonna be different, grip is going to be different compared to Australia and usual tracks with the usual compounds. So it’s important to take the opportunity you have to stay near the top. Unfortunately in India and Indonesia we weren’t able to and missed out on Q2 for a couple of tenths, and then technical problems in Indonesia. But in India I had a good recovery. Let’s see if this is the time!”
SOMKIAT CHANTRA: “I really enjoy to come back to Thailand and to my home race. And today with Joan, Fabio and Franco, I’m so happy to be here.
“With new colours on my bike, and riding in the city, I never did that! Lots of fans, supporting all the riders, and it was really good.”
Official MotoGP Press Release
