A dramatic new racecar will be the focus of attention when Thailand Super Series (TSS) roars into action at Buriram in just two weeks time. That anticipated new arrival will come in the shape of the brand new Toyota M101-86, which is being entered by Toyota Team Thailand.

The car itself is the first of a new generation of ‘GT300’ specification cars being developed particularly for Super GT and it made its race debut two weeks ago when the Japanese series headed for Buriram for its first ever event in Thailand. That occasion presented the perfect opportunity for TSS to send a full scrutineering delegation to the event to coordinate with Super GT organisers’, GT Association, in order to homologate both the current- and next-generation GT300 category cars to run in Super Car Class 1-GT3.

At the same time TSS Super Car Class 1-GT3 reigning champion Khun Vutthikorn Inthraphuvasak and the team that has powered him to his six domestic titles were in action in the GT300 class after obtaining a ‘wildcard’ entry and they waved the flag for Thailand high, emerging as the undisputed heroes of the weekend.

This week TSS has announced the full official schedule of Race 5 & 6, which will take place at Chang International Circuit from October 30 to November 2. All nine categories that make up the bumper action packed programme will be included as Thailand’s biggest and most glamorous race series revs up Buriram for the first time.

It promises to be the most unforgettable racing weekend of the year so far and for the first time Thai fans will be able to see the two top Super Car categories, Class 1-GT3 and Class 2-GTM, mixed in together on the grid on home soil.

Looking back to the last round held at Bira Circuit, there was a new name on the Super 2000 grid – Khun Carlo Van Dam. He’s a leading professional driver and his arrival in the Singha Motorsport Team Thailand ranks was a very welcome addition. He also proved his value by turning in a real fighting drive.

The arrival of Super GT in Thailand for the seventh and penultimate round of the season has clearly opened a door for the Japanese series’ popular GT300 class cars to be homologated into TSS – at a stroke providing an additional new opportunity in the ‘New Era’ of motorsport here that been all about seizing new opportunities.

Timing exactly with the Super GT series pitching up at Buriram for the first time has been the public launch of the first racecar to be developed to the ‘new’ GT300 regulations. The new class of car is focused around what has been dubbed as the ‘mother’ chassis, which features widespread use of homologated common parts including an advanced composite monocoque, suspension and certain powertrain components.

That will allow teams to develop their own brand identity machines off a cost controlled platform and provide an alternative to the ‘turnkey’ FIA GT3 cars that are currently squeezing the traditional self-developed racecars in GT300. It’s a very similar strategy to that which has been adopted by DTM, the two ‘high tech’ series’ sharing much in common and indeed they are both working towards future convergence.

The connection becomes even stronger as the first of the ‘mother’ chassis (the initial batch are now being built by leading Japanese racecar constructor, Dome) has been developed as a Toyota product and was snapped up by Toyota Team Thailand, which has long had its eye on the machine. After its debut in Buriram just over a week ago the striking racecar will be back again at the North East track early next month for Race 5 & 6 of TSS.

The Super GT organisers’, GTA [GT Association], has evolved its regulations to harmonise the FIA GT3 specification cars, which have been flooding into the series with greater and greater success since 2010, with its existing breed of GT300 class cars while also now getting ready to layer in the new generation of GT300 ‘mother’ chassis, which are all set to go on to gain much greater traction in 2015.

In fact as well as the new Toyota 86 (now officially dubbed as the M101-86), regular Super GT team Mooncraft has just bought one of the new M101 chassis and will develop it into a Lotus Evora for use in Super GT in 2015. The possibilities are multi-fold and more M101 chassis based entries into Super GT are expected to be announced soon.

With Toyota Team Thailand planning to run its brand new M101-86 in the final two TSS rounds of the year, it’s important for TSS to homologate the regulations surrounding new car to fit into Super Car Class 1-GT3 and provide parity with the existing GT3 cars. So observing and gaining knowledge from the Super GT organisers’ implementation and direction for the ‘new’ GT300 class was of utmost importance.

To that end the heads of our scrutineering team joined the official TSS delegation, led by Race Director Khun Preeda Tantemsapya, to Super GT’s debut race at Buriram a little over a week ago where they observed GTA’s technical processes and procedures. Our scrutineering team comprised of Khun Suchart Tawesudom, Khun Wittawat Imerb and Khun Pattrapon Luangmaneerat. Also attending the event was TSS President Sontaya Kunplome.

Having seen the GTA’s technical procedures up close, Khun Preeda was satisfied that Super GT’s existing GT300 cars as well as the new GT300 ‘mother’ chassis (specifically, in the shape of the new Toyota M101-86) can all be homologated to run in Super Car Class 1-GT3 going forward. “As far as the newcomer Toyota 86 is concerned as we can see both the GT3 cars and the GT300 cars run together with quite different homologation papers so we are here to observe how we scrutineer the GT300 cars old and new,” he said.

He was happy with the input and interest that came from the Super GT organisers. “So far GTA has said they will give us the [homologation] documentation and whatever further changes will occur during the year we will do exactly the same as what they are doing to have both GT3 and GT300 competitive in our Class 1,” he continued.

Khun Preeda was also pleased that the TSS delegation was able to swiftly get up to speed with the GT300 rules. “Fortunately we have [Khun Suchart] from ‘Driver Motorsport’ who can speak and write Japanese fluently and we have quickly developed a good understanding of the scope and perspective of the GT300 class and how we will go about [homologating it into TSS],” he continues.

“Our scrutineers say it’s not difficult to accomplish after seeing what [GTA] have done in the scrutineering section so I think we can cope with the scrutineering,” Khun Preeda reckons. Working with GTA to develop a platform to allow GT300 cars to run in Super Car Class 1-GT3 is a logical direction to pursue, he says. “Obviously Motorsport Asia doesn’t have GT300 cars running in their series so with some extra assistance from GTA we can have both GT3 and GT300 cars competing in Class 1-GT3.”
 
After observing the GT300 class runners in action on track, Khun Preeda was also pleased to see that GTA has successfully managed to integrate the different types of racecars together in one class where they can all be competitive. “As we can see from the timing of the sessions [at Buriram] it seems that the GT3 cars are quite happily in front of the GT300 cars both old and new, they all seem to fit well in a way that will work for us.”

As TSS relentlessly pushes forward with breaking new ground – we will now become the first series in the world outside Japan to homologate both the current and next generation Super GT GT300 cars. And while Toyota Team Thailand’s new M101-86 is already destined for track action in Super Car Class 1-GT3, such has been the interest that we in fact expect to see further GT300 cars joining our series next year.

When TSS was launched a year and a half ago President Sontaya Kunplome put ‘internationalism’ at the heart of his strategy to build a ‘New Era’ for Thai motorsport. That’s become something of a two way street as not only has TSS implemented international standards from top to bottom but several of our leading teams have really raised their game and ventured abroad to take on some of the best cars and drivers in the world. That they have been able to hold their own against experienced opposition graphically emphasises just how far everyone has come in such a short period of time.

That desire to better oneself and scale new heights can be no better typified than six-time Super Car champion Khun Vutthikorn Inthraphuvasak who has this year proven that his rampant dominance at home also translates abroad. He’s already toe dipped in two GT Asia races this season, at Fuji and Sepang.

But then came the biggest challenge of all as he nabbed one of the two ‘wildcard’ entries into Super GT’s GT300 class at Buriram. This was a different level altogether as he would be up against big budget factory teams stocked with top professional drivers. This is the big time and only the skilful are tolerated in the Super GT paddock. The chance of looking stupid in front of the world isn’t something that crosses the mind of a driver like Khun Vutthikorn so it was game on.

Once the entry was nailed down Team Principal Khun Peter Rohwer reached for his contact book to find a teammate who could add value. That weekend most of the Porsche factory drivers were away on the other side of the globe at Petit Le Mans and with another key race in Germany as well it didn’t leave many options. Then the name Khun Alexandre Imperatori came up via Engineer Sven Schnabl. The seat was filled and as it would turn out Khun Peter had played a blinder.

The Swiss driver has made a big name for himself, especially on this continent. After his early career years were spent in single-seaters around Europe he headed to Asia to race in the Asian Formula Renault Challenge, quickly progressing to Formula Nippon and then All Japan F3 with a spell in A1GP. Then Khun Alexandre arrived in sportscars, racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia before moving on to Japanese Super GT where he has GT300 wins to his name. For the last two years he’s also raced at the Le Mans 24 Hours, heading the line-up of the first Chinese team to ever compete in the biggest race in the world.

All in all it was a perfect fit. So how did the dots join up? “It came about two or three weeks ago,” explained Khun Alexandre. “Sven [Schnabl] is my Team Manager-Engineer in Europe where I race for Falken and they were looking for a driver to race alongside Vutthikorn and Sven told them I had a lot of experience with the [Porsche] GT3-R and I’m also based in Asia in Shanghai so somehow it was a perfect fit. So they contacted me and trusted me and I have to thank them for contacting me for this race.”

With one of the fastest sportscar drivers in the world alongside him and up against pro teams with pro drivers Khun Vutthikorn would have nowhere to hide. (It would later transpire that he did go and hide – but out front).

With support from long time sponsor i-mobile the team swung into its late in the day preparations. This though is the same team that has conducted its TSS winning spree with perfection. The same Chief Engineer to be found in the TSS paddock, Khun Sven Schnabl, was in charge. But still this is a small private team run from the premises of the Official Porsche importer in Don Mueang. They would be up against the biggest beasts of the Japanese motorsport jungle.

Khun Vuttikorn’s latest mount, Porsche’s 997 GT3-R, has a stunning race record so far in Super Car, 7 wins from 8 race starts. The eighth race it finished in P2, beaten to the flag only by the Reiter-built Camaro GT3 driven by top pro Khun Tomáš Enge. The engine however had been shipped to Germany for rebuild so the team reached for the second car in its stable, the identical machine raced by Khun Piti Bhirombhakdi, as Race Engineer Khun Sven explained. “For this event the team changed the car, they took the second car because both drivers have one car each,” he noted.

On the track the #99 Porsche went straight to the business end of the timesheets – and stayed there. In the official free practice session they locked down P1, three-tenths up on the factory-supported Subaru BRZ. That surprised a lot of people both inside and outside the team. For Thai motorsport fans, faced with timesheets stuffed with a bewildering number of unfamiliar names there was huge reassurance to see the local team at the top of the screens. Khun Vutthikorn is the best driver of his generation, the champion of champions here, and to have his name up there was a source of huge pride to the fans who gave Super GT the thumbs up and came in big numbers to pack the main grandstand out. At a stroke the fans had a recognisable hero for the weekend, and the stands were soon buzzing with excitement.

When the talking stopped and the official qualifying session loomed into view the drivers had to deliver as Super GT’s format calls for the first driver to deliver the car to Q2 where the second driver finishes the job off. It means there isn’t any room for passengers in this series; two fast pilots are a must. Quite simply Khun Vutthikorn had to get the job done – and he did. When the dust settled the Thai star had hauled the #99 car into Q2 perfectly and Khun Alexandre then finished the job off. 1:34.131. P1. Pole. That was sensational – in fact it was a whopping 0.668 seconds ahead of the second best car, the BMW Z4 of Khun Jorg Muller and Khun Seiji Ara. In the media room you could have heard a pin drop as the final minutes of the session ticked away.

At the top end of the pitlane in the narrow #1 garage Khun Sven was blown away by how Khun Vutthikorn had responded to the biggest challenge of his career so far. “Really, really good,” he said afterwards. “Vutthikorn did a really good job in GT Asia in the last two rounds, he was leading both races, the one in Sepang as well as Fuji, and out here he’s doing a brilliant job. He’s had a really good run in qualifying, the job he had to do was bring the car into Q2, so he had to be in the top thirteen and he was seven or eight in his group and that’s everything we wanted from him, getting the car to Q2 was the main aim. Then Alex did the rest of the job, but that’s easy to say.”

So was Khun Sven surprised that the i-mobile AAS team had nabbed pole? “Honestly yes,” he said. “I saw the results the Porsches did in the past, for example the Suzuka 1000 kms which was the last round of Super GT and Porsche with two factory drivers, the Bergmeister brothers [Jörg and Tim], but only finished sixth overall so I definitely didn’t expect us to be in front or in the top five, but again the tyres helped us, a lot of tyre development is going on here as we went from the standard Michelin tyres to the special tyres we immediately went quicker.”

Certainly they’re top dogs in TSS, so were they up to scratch for their splash into the big time? “I have to say the team has proved itself already in GT Asia at the round in Japan as well as Sepang that they did a great job in terms of handling the car,” reckoned Khun Sven. “Japan [Super] GT is similar to DTM so it’s one of the top levels of motorsport, so the team is really good, the car is running well, the drivers are doing a great job.”

For Khun Alexandre it was his first race with i-mobile AAS as well as his first race in Thailand. He was also impressed by the team’s standards and the way they were responding to the challenge. “It’s the first time for them to come and join a high level series like Super GT so it’s obviously a steep learning curve, they have to do pitstops, refuelling, tyre changes and it’s all going very quick so it’s not easy. It’s also a whole new format to work with the Japanese, they’re very strict with the procedures, how to scrutineer the car, and everything. It’s all brand new for them but they’re up for the challenge.

“They’re given both of us a good car, we have Sven come from Germany who is giving them a lot of guidance and that’s great they can learn more and more,” he continued. “This is the point to be here this weekend to learn. In the past they have been doing Thailand Super Series and this year already they have done GT Asia so it’s a step higher and they learn and develop themselves and now this is the next level, a top level international series and they’re learning and they’re doing good.”

The weekend was also all about a brand new track, one that TSS will rev up in just a few weeks time, so who better than ask an opinion of than the team on pole?

“Overall I like the track, the layout is good,” said Khun Sven. “For the first event everything has been done on time, Japan [Super] GT showed up here and everything is done. I did not expect that I have to say as the team was out here two weeks ago and there was still constructions going on so I though okay it might be tight but everything is good and the drivers like the track so far.”

Khun Sven was also happy with the way that the new track was rubbering up. “Grip wise it’s going to get better the more cars that come here up the track has picked up quite a lot of grip from day one as the laptimes have improved and improved so overall it’s quite good,” he said.

The ‘stand in’ pro was also impressed with the new track. “It’s a great facility, they have really done it properly according to international standards, the kerbs are great, all the quality is good, it’s very nice,” said Khun Alexandre. “It’s a nice track, we have some high speed corners, we have a very tricky middle section of the track which makes it technical and so it’s very fun to drive. It’s not a Mickey Mouse circuit, you can carry a lot of speed in the corners so in this regard it’s fun.”
 
‘The Champ’ was also happy with the way the weekend was shaping up, even though this most modest of race drivers wasn’t too keen to overstate the significance of the #99 car’s quite sensational pole. “I have to thank i-mobile and AAS for giving me the chance to join the race here in Thailand in Super GT,” said Khun Vutthikorn as he concluded a late afternoon round of TV interviews with the Thai media who were obviously enthused by the ‘local’ team having dished it out to the ‘big boys’. “I think this is one of the biggest events in Asia, it’s a pleasure to be here,” he added.

“Today is just the beginning, we got pole yes, but it doesn’t tell you that you will finish number one easily, there’s a number of things to do,” Khun Vutthikorn cautioned. “First I was telling people ‘top ten I will be happy’ but today we saw that we aim for a better place now, a podium is our aim now for tomorrow. We have a good team mate, Alex, who is doing a perfect job, and the team and the sponsor, everybody is very important at the moment.”

Tomorrow came. The #99 car started from pole with Khun Vutthikorn behind the wheel. Behind him was a bumper grid of professional drivers. At the green lights he was his usual smooth self as he got a perfect getaway to lead the snarling GT300 pack into Turn 1. By the time the field had thundered down to the hairpin and was coming back up again into sight of the massive grandstand and the green and orange car swung into the ultra high speed left hander Khun Vutthikorn had built up a five car lengths lead. It was already in the bag.

From thereon the reigning TSS champion just walked away and no one had an answer. However racing often throws up cruel luck and a left hand front puncture ended the #99 car’s ambitious bid for a truly sensational victory.

The team responded at lightening speed and dispatched the machine back into the race in record time, allowing Khun Alexandre to come home in a very respectable P7. In fact such was the slick work of the pit crew that up in the towering grandstands some unsighted fans thought the car had received a drive through.

The actual result didn’t really seem to matter that much in the end, the real heroes of the weekend were Khun Vutthikorn and all the members of the i-mobile AAS team. They proved that Thailand really has got talent. Bred in TSS they will be back in Buriram in a couple of weeks for Race 5 & 6 of Thailand’s top championship.

TSS is pleased to announce the official schedule for Race 5 & 6 of the season, which will take place at the brand new Chang International Circuit from October 30 to November 2. The circuit opened to racing just a couple of weeks ago and the arrival of the leading domestic motorsport series will be icing on the cake.

As usual the nine categories (Super Eco, Super Production, Super 1500, Lotus Cup Thailand, Super Pickup, Super 2000, Super Car Class 3, Super Car Class 2 and Super Car Class 1) that currently make up the TSS format will all be on the programme.

The event will get underway on Thursday October 30 with scrutineering, that’s set to run all day across the categories, while on track there will be untimed promoter practice sessions for all competitors. Each category will enjoy a one-hour session in the morning with a further hour in the afternoon, meaning teams and drivers will have plenty of time to acclimatise to the new circuit.

Friday October 31 will see the programme crank up a gear as the official Free Practice sessions get underway, starting with a 25 minute session for Super Eco at 0900. All categories will have a 25 minute or 30 minute long session during the morning, wrapping up with a combined Free Practice run for Super Car Class 1 and Class 2 from 1135-1205. The driver briefing will then run over lunchtime.

The same afternoon will see the pressure rising as Qualifying takes place starting with Super Eco at 1320 and followed by Super Production/Super 1500 (1400), Super Pickup (1440), Super 2000/Super Car Class 3 (1520), Super Car Class1/Class 2 (1600) and Lotus Cup Thailand (1640).

Saturday November 1 sees the first races of the weekend being contested, kicking off with the 6 lap Super Eco race at 0900 and followed by Super Production/1500 at 0940; that race will be 11 laps. Then the Lotus Cup Thailand is in action at 1025 for a 7 lap race. That all leads up to the official opening ceremony, scheduled for 1125, which also includes Hot Laps and the Krating Daeng Drift Show.

After lunch the Super 2000 runners with contest their first race, it starts at 1255 and will be of 12 laps duration and is followed by Super Car Class 3 at 1350; that race is also 12 laps. Then it’s the turn of Super Car Class/Class 2 at 1445 (15 laps) before the afternoon is wrapped up by Super Pickup at 1600 (12 laps) and the second race of the day for Super Eco at 1705 (6 laps).

Sunday 2 November will see the trucks the first to line up in the grid, for what will also be their second race of the weekend (as well as their first of two races over the final day) at 0900, with the Super Eco competitors next up at 1005 for their third and final race of the weekend. Super Production/1500 will follow them at 1045 (note, all Sunday races are the name lap distance as Saturday’s races). Following the midday festivities the Super 2000 runners will go to green lights at 1345 followed by Super Car Class 3 at 1440 and Super Car Class 1/Class 2 at 1535. Finally, Super Pickup wraps up the TSS weekend with its third race of the event at 1650.

The international star driver names have been arriving in the paddock in growing numbers over the last year – and joining that influx is single seater turned sportscar ace Khun Carlo Van Dam.

The Dutchman is already a fixture on the TSS pitwall as a core member of Singha Motorsport Team Thailand where he’s been providing wider race strategy and car setup input for Super Car Class 2-GTM pacesetter Khun Voravud Bhirombhakdi. Regarded as one of the top karting instructors around (he’s a former karting world champion) Khun Carlo is also coaching Khun Voravud’s son who is at the early karting stage of what looks to be a promising future racing career.

However this is a driven professional who is always hungry to drive a racecar – and he was very keen to get onto track competitively in TSS. With Singha Motorsport Team Thailand’s boasting an almost fleet-sized collection of Super 2000-specification Honda Civic FD’s it was relatively easy to join up the dots.

But first some background. Khun Carlo’s racing career kicked off in karts and he was a member of the Renault Driver Development Programme on graduating to Formula Renault, before he announced himself in Formula 3 in some style. After winning the German F3 title in 2007 but without the budget to go much further up the ladder in Europe he did what many young drivers in a similar position do – and head East. And that paid off handsomely as he joined the factory-supported TOMs team and promptly won the All Japan F3 Championship at his first shot in 2008 after dominating the season, while the year ended with a stab at the prestigious Macau Grand Prix. From there he moved onto sportscars, racing intermittently in the Japanese Super GT Championship over the last six seasons while at the same time he’s raced all over the world. This year he won in Asian Le Mans with AAI Motorsport at his first time of asking and took part in the gruelling Nürburgring 24 Hours with Subaru.

However Honda’s Civic FD represented something very different – for a start it was a long, long time since he had raced a front-wheel-drive car! “The only front-wheel-drive cars I drive are rental cars, but this is better than a rental car,” Khun Carlo said with a laugh in the paddock at Bira during TSS Race 3 & 4. “I drive rear-wheel-drive cars a lot and four-wheel-drive cars with Subaru but front wheel drive cars once or twice so I have to try to adjust.”

It wasn’t to turn out to be a smooth debut and car niggles along with his main weekend focus of assisting the team prepare and setup Khun Voravud’s Ferrari 458 Challenge meant track running time was restricted.

“The problem for me is that we have too many issues so I hardly did a proper session,” he said after a tough qualifying session that left him with everything to do come the races. “Then I get a weight penalty, a welcome penalty, these are the rules so I’m not complaining. But it’s a 100 kilos and because [the FD has] a sequential gearbox we already have 30 extra [kilos] and because of safety reasons we decided to fit everything in the back which is very bad for the handling so I couldn’t do anything in qualifying.”

Despite all that, Khun Carlo demonstrated his professional skills to plant the Civic FD on the fourth row of the grid for the first race although he ended up with nothing to show for it as he retired on the opening lap with a broken gearlever.

However come Sunday afternoon, and despite the fact he would start right from the back of the big grid due to retiring on the first lap of Race 1, Khun Carlo was clearly looking forward to Race 2 and reflecting on the characteristics of the Civic FD as he got to grips with it, as well as being pleased that the extra ballast had dropped off. That would give him a much better chance to turn in a representative showing.

“We had a bit of an issue with the car [in Race 1] but I thought yesterday I could focus on P5 but today with the lighter car I could challenge for the win but now I just need to hope that I can overtake some cars and have some fun today,” he said as the bumper Super 2000 grid formed up on the main straight at Bira Circuit. A grid, it must be said, that all formed up in front of him!

So what was his impression of the Civic FD? “It’s a nice little racecar, it’s a bit different as the lines are a bit different,” Khun Carlo admitted. “The techniques are a bit different too, especially for me as I’m also testing the Ferrari [458 Challenge] so it’s quite hard to short circuit directly to different lines again. But it’s good, has good power, but usually front wheel drive cars tend to understeer a lot so it’s a bit less challenging.”

Finally Race 2 saw Khun Carlo make his first mark in TSS – and he added his name to the list of drivers that Thai race fans always need to look out for. Starting once again from way down the grid he carved his way up the order right from the green light and the Dutchman’s pace was simply electrifying.

He also benefited from the arrival of the Safety Car and over the closing laps he locked onto the tail of the leaders, squeezing his way down the inside of the Toyota Altezza of Khun Kantadhee Kusiri with two wheels of the FD on the grass in the run from S2 to the Honda Turn as he snatched P2. That was an impressive way to end the race – in fact he was only beaten to the checkered flag only by the superior rear-wheel-drive BMW of Bira ‘specialist’ Khun Jack Lemvard.

“We knew it was going to be a tough weekend, we couldn’t setup the car, we had 145 kilos in the trunk [in Race 1] so the car was undriveable and had no speed,” he said after his first ever trip up to the Bira Circuit podium. “But today we could take out my penalty, and then you see the car is much better and I overtook a lot of cars, and then got to P2 which was the maximum possible, Jack was too quick, his car was very good and well done to him.”

With the next TSS round, to be held at the new Buriram United International Circuit, brewing up to be even more ruthlessly competitive than at Bira in the Super 2000 category, Thai race fans will be hoping that Khun Carlo will be adding his name into the mix for a second time in the #89 Singha Motorsport Team Thailand Civic FD.