Local racer Ben Fortt, based out of The Caddyshack Pub, Pattaya went up country last weekend for the 4th race of the superbike 1000cc SB-2 championship and once again puts himself on pole position with the fastest qualifying lap of 1.25.6 at Thailand International racing Circuit.
The weather was looking extremely threatening and with the possibility of a wet race, the pit crew were poised and ready with the wet tyre set. However, thankfully the rain held off and there was a dry race.
Ben Fortt, second right, poses on the starting grid with the brolly girls and Tingnote Titipong, far right, the 2010 Thailand champion.
Fortt got off the start well and put in some superb first and second laps to give himself a comfortable lead at the front of the pack, where he stayed for the remainder of the race unchallenged and 20 seconds ahead of his nearest rival.
The win puts Fortt firmly at the top of and pulling clear in the SB-2 Thai championship points table. Ben remarked after the race that he was delighted with his performance and was surprised that he won by such a big margin.
“I owe much of my success to my team who work so hard to get the bike set up to this standard,” he said afterwards. “This season I switched from Suzuki to Honda and the expertise of Panadda Racing Team who I ride for is defiantly a big part of my progress. I would like to say a special thank you to my sponsors CEA cranes and Equipment Asia for their big part in supporting me from day one of my racing career which means a lot to me.”
The next round of the championship will be at the Bira circuit on August 25-26. Come along to cheer Ben on – he races with the number 40 on his back.
