The Elf Marc VDS Racing Team has ventured back into Asia for round 18 of the Moto2 World Championship, which takes Tony Arbolino and Filip Salac to Buriram for the Grand Prix of Thailand.

• A five-hour drive east from bustling Bangkok, the Buriram track is known as the Destination of Speed and the 4.55km layout provides one of the sternest physical tests of the season, with searing heat and humidity to contend with.
• The action starts at 950am local time on Friday morning with lights out for the 22-lap race scheduled at 1315pm on Sunday afternoon.

/// TONY ARBOLINO

• A battling eighth place last weekend in Australia was Arbolino’s sixth top 10 finish in the last seven rounds, but the Italian is determined to get himself back in the podium hunt once again this weekend in Thailand.
• The 24-year-old took one of his three wins during the 2022 Moto2 campaign in a race that was red flagged after eight full laps had been completed due to torrential rain.
• Arbolino has managed to score points in all four of his previous visits to Buriram, which includes a strong fourth place 12 months ago from eighth position on the grid.

“The target is to be back in the lead group”

“I’m happy to be again in Thailand and looking forward to another strong weekend. I don’t feel we performed at our 100% potential in Australia, so the target is to be once again back in the lead group and I’m sure we can do it.”

/// FILIP SALAC

• A strong second half to the 2024 campaign continued for Salac last weekend in Phillip Island when he claimed points for the seventh successive Grand Prix.
• In scorching hot conditions last season, Salac was involved in a close battle with Darryn Binder and Bo Bendsneyder and narrowly missed a points scoring finish by less than two-tenths-of-a-second.
• In monsoon conditions back in 2022, Salac produced a wet weather masterclass to fight his way through from 12^th on the grid to second and he was less than 0.3s behind current teammate Arbolino when the race was halted on safety grounds.

“I want to continue this good run of results”

“Buriram is a track I like a lot and it was there two years ago that I was able to take my first podium in Moto2. It is going to be quite a strange feeling coming from Phillip Island where we got some of the coldest conditions of the season to Buriram where we get some of the hottest. It is always a physical race with the heat, but I feel good and want to continue this good run of results I’m currently on.”