Red Bull Honda’s Leon Camier ran out a brilliant fourth in WorldSBK race one at Buriram, exceeding his own pre-race predictions of how close he could get to a podium, despite qualifying third quickest in Superpole.

He missed a top three in only his third ever Honda WorldSBK ride by just over 0.8 of a second. He was even in contention for a top three right until old mate Chaz Davies passed him with two laps to go.

“I made a couple of little mistakes in the last few laps,” Camier told bikesportnews.com. “We were lacking in a couple of little areas where if I did not get it absolutely perfect, they were slipstreaming me and I could not slipstream them.

“A couple of times it felt like they could make a pass but even if I was sat on their arse I could not catch them. It was hard to hold that pace because I could not manage it.”

It is not just an engine thing for Camier, as he said after race one, but a few small items together. “It is more of a power thing I think, it is not massive. Slightly more engine power and aerodynamics, we have to refine everything so I can attack the race 100 per cent. And make fewer mistakes.

“I tried to stay with Johnny Rea, but he had a bit of an edge on me in a couple of places and I had a small highside in T1. That cost me a few tenths on that straight, I lost the slipstream and it was game over. But I got some good laps in.”

For race two Camier is now in an ideal starting position, on pole, and that may help if Rea or another top rider comes through early in the race, as he and others may help the Honda rider along.

“It’s good that Rea and Davies are now further back,” said Camier. “Normally Johnny just needs one lap to be at the front and that’s why I don’t think that’s going to make a huge difference. But starting from pole is not a bad thing.”

All in all, and even with one race to go, it has been a positive weekend in Thailand for Camier, especially as this was yet another track that the Honda appears to work well at.

“We got a lot from the bike today, our package works well,” affirmed the Kent native. “Before Superpole we changed something. It worked well with the qualifying tyre. If we find one more thing for tomorrow, fine tune it, then you know how racing is, anything is possible.”

Having just secured the best results of the current generation WorldSBK Fireblade, in just his third Honda race, Camier tried to sum up what it meant for the whole effort. “Results like this are good for everyone. It is very early days for us yet.

"So long as we can keep making improvements the way we want and it works then I am looking forward to the rest of the season.”