The second half of the season is looming into view and while the immediate focus is now on this week’s first ever visit by Thailand Super Series (TSS) to the brand new racetrack in Buriram, attention is also increasingly turning towards the jewel in the crown of the Thai motorsport season, the Bangsaen Thailand Speed Festival, as preparations are now well underway.
The Buriram circuit is set to play host to Race 5 & 6 of the TSS season and with the championship battles being ultra close across almost all the classes it looks set to be a real thriller, all of which will be played out on the purpose built new international standard racetrack.
In Super Car Class 1-GT3 Toyota Team Thailand will be aiming to continue to push the competitive and technical bar forward as it debuts its sensational new Toyota M101-86 racer; it will be in the hands of Japanese hotshot Khun Kazuya Oshima who already has experience of the Buriram track.
In Super Car Class 2-GTM expect young Khun Kantasak Kusiri to reap the benefits of his recent testing time here as he continues to get to grips with Porsche power and it should be a similar story for New Zealander Khun Craig Corliss who has also grabbed some valuable testing time in the big V8-engined Holden Commodore VE.
Another team looking to enjoy the high-speed characteristics of Buriram will be RZ Racing and its new Mazda RX-8 has been undergoing all round aero upgrades just in time for the coming weekend.
While the TSS team has been primarily focused on the countdown to Buriram in recent weeks, a delegation visited Bangsaen last week to examine track improvements that will be made during November. The party, led by President Sontaya Kunplome and Race Director Preeda Tantemsapya, were satisfied with progress and signed off on the upgrades.
Testing time for star of the future
Star of the future. It’s an overused term, certainly, and pretty widely applied. But in one driver’s case, Khun Kantasak Kusiri, Thailand really does have an international star of the future in the making – and this year it’s pleasing that the young ‘hotshot’ has made the grade to Super Car.
Having really stamped his mark as one to watch out for in the cut and thrust of Super 2000 over recent seasons, it’s been a big step up especially as he’s now racing Porsche’s 997 GT3, which is never an easy racecar to master for the first time. Even tougher as he’s graduated straight from driving locally developed front wheel drive Honda sedans.
It’s been a yet more difficult task, as Khun Kantasak has enjoyed virtually no time in his new racecar to prepare for his arrival in Super Car Class 2-GTM; so he’s really been thrown right in the deep end. There is also a big weight of expectation on his shoulders – the fans always expect to see him out there fighting for P1. So the pressure is there. Big pressure has been placed on young shoulders.
And there is even more pressure as top driver Khun Piti Bhirombhakdi is supporting Khun Kantasak’s career and wants to see him develop into a future international name and become a driver that can play his part in putting Thailand onto the global racing map. So for Khun Piti, letting his young protégée loose in his ‘spare’ 997 was a logical development.
Khun Kantasak is already a big, big hit with the Thai race fans; they have attuned to his skill, bravery, ambition and relish for the battle. The 25-year-old has never accepted the obvious limitations of the front wheel drive Honda Civic FD when he’s gone up against superior machinery and the fans have respected him for it. When he races everyone watches – it’s that simple.
However, while the first two rounds of TSS 2014 have been something of an uphill struggle for Khun Kantasak, it’s all looking a lot brighter now as – for the first time this year – he will go into next weekend’s Race 5 & 6 with some decent testing time behind him after the Singha A Motorsport AAS team spent a few days at the new Buriram track last week preparing for the races. That means fans should see a much more realistic picture of where Khun Kantasak should be, albeit in the context that this particular Porsche isn’t perfectly attuned to the rules and lugs an extra chunk of weight to fit into Super Car Class 2-GTM.
Last week’s testing in Buriram was the first time that the team had enjoyed a breathing space in its busy schedule since the Bira Circuit round back in early July and in fact really had a proper chance to get to grips properly with this car on track even though it joined the stable more than a year ago, as engineer Khun Don Chiewcharnvlichkij explained afterwards.
”We were far away from this car and had no time to learn and test as we were running in Super GT with the i-mobile AAS [team],” he said. The outfit also squeezed in a couple of events on the GT Asia Series 2014 calendar, at Fuji (July) and Sepang (September) with Khun Piti driving; that means it’s been a very busy three and a bit months since the previous TSS round.
“So we resume on working on this ‘GT3i’ and carry out some jobs we [have to] start to do, such as to develop the rear suspension and so to put on more sensors, damper linear potentiometers, on all four dampers. This is to help us to choose the right spring rate and best ride height [which is] complicated if you don’t have these sensors, adjusting the dampers high and low speed velocity bump and rebound, or what are called 3-way and 4-way dampers.”
‘GT3i’ is the name by which the car owner, Khun Piti, has dubbed this unique Porsche. It’s an unusual machine, developed much of the way to FIA GT3 specification from a ‘Cup’ base model, so it’s something of a compromise. Khun Piti only undertook one race in the car (the season opener at Sepang last year) before he bought a new 997 GT3-R and the ‘GT3i’ was laid up until Khun Bank took over driving duties for 2014.
The car was too slow for Class 1-GT3 and too quick for Class 2-GTM so the compromise of adding a chunk of weight to allow it to compete in the latter category has been a short term solution, albeit one that doesn’t allow the car to properly stretch its legs.
This was the first time the team has had to opportunity to enjoy serious technical data analysis with the ‘GT3i’,” continues Khun Don. “We used to do it like we buy a ‘lotto’ [ticket] on the 2-ways dampers but when we climb up to 3- and 4-way [units] we need technical help such as the data acquisition from the MoTeC dash and the [proprietary] i2 [data analysis software] both of which [are] widely used now.
“Even though some teams are using EFI dash, Pi dash or a cheaper dash like AIM, the engineer is most likely to export the data from those particular brands and log it to CSV or ASCII files and then use i2 to import and interpret via three main categories, ‘Driver’, ‘Engine’ and ‘Chassis’, which we were doing [during the test],” he added.
So this was certainly a big step forward for the team in getting to grips with the Porsche, starting to unlock and extract its full potential. It’s all getting very serious. “Last weekend was the first time we work on this car with numbers [and] calculations rather than with words like ‘in my opinion, we should go stiffer or maybe softer’,” Khun Don says with a laugh. “I think this was the key to the success last week. Nothing [was done] to the engine power or drivetrain.”
Hand in hand with a focused technical approach was to teach Khun Kantasak about the Porsche – and teach him to be a contemporary professional driver. After all the aim of this project is to turn him into the finished article. “The first priority is to get [Khun Kantasak] used to the car and learn about the hows and whys, the results and how to look in the software to see why we go this way or that way,” he continues. “And then how to summarise, to pick the best parts [of a lap] and to sum it together as one perfect lap.”
That strategy progressed over the test and culminated in all round progress. “[We were] unlucky that [on] Sunday the track was very slippery, there was much gear [and] engine oil spilt over the track. We had a big adjustment on the car dynamics and yes it was all working but the picture isn’t clearly seen,” explained Khun Don. “When we watched the re-run the car had more grip and [that] made the driver more confident [on the] turn-in [to] every fast corner. You see that the gap on every long straight between the GT3i and Class 1 car, before that car spun, was much closer.”
As well as tutoring Khun Kantasak, for the Race Engineer it was an unrivalled opportunity to grab as much information as possible about the new track, which was of paramount important as they are building from a zero knowledge base about Buriram. “We needed to get as much data as we could as we haven’t had any chance to get [any],” says Khun Don.
The net result of the test is that Khun Kantasak and the Singha Porsche AAS team will head into next weekend’s event much better prepared than they have been so far this year. The young driver, who hasn’t been able to really let his natural talent shine through so far since his graduation to Super Car should have a much better chance to be more competitive, albeit still in the context of driving a racecar that is something of an overall compromise package.
Countdown to Bangsaen gets underway
With less than two months remaining until the Bangsaen Thailand Speed Festival 2014, attention has turned toward Thailand’s biggest and most glamorous annual motorsport event. No race in Thailand this year will come anywhere close to the lure of Bangsaen – or the spectator numbers – and TSS promises that it’s going to be bigger and better than ever before.
While we expect more drivers, teams, cars and fans than last year, behind the scenes the preparation work is already well underway. Already the unyielding crash barriers that line the 3.7-km street course are being bolted into place while the grandstands and TV gantries are starting to rise upwards.
With track safety and a steady and relentless move towards international motorsport standards being our key priorities going forward, there will be multiple improvements this year to the operational side of the Speed Festival. Most significantly, there will be upgrades to the track with two sections being surfaced before the event gets underway. Particular focus will be paid to the tricky and demanding ‘mountain’ section.
Last Wednesday morning a delegation of TSS officials, led by President Khun Sontaya Kunplome and Race Director Preeda Tantemsapya, visited Bangsaen to inspect the road sections that will be resurfaced and sign off on the upgrades. The resurfacing work will commence early this coming week. ”We’re doing work as there are some bumps and small holes and with the track being in daily use by vehicles it was time to do some maintenance,’ explained Khun Preeda in Bangsaen. “We’re [focusing] on two sections that need improvements.”
He noted that the rapidly climbing standards of the racecars used in TSS require the track to continually evolve. “The bumpy sections are not good for the racers, especially for the many new generation cars that are lower and faster and can be more temperamental to bumps.”
In a sign of the non-stop growth of the Bangsaen event, which is now enjoying greater international exposure and recognition, TSS is cooperating very closely with FIA inspectors who visited the race last year and will do so again in December. The governing body’s inspectors have been advising TSS of upgrades that are required to meet the FIA’s laid down safety standards and the circuit is being evolved to meet those specifications.
“This year we will have officials from the FIA coming to attend and inspect the track and we will do everything necessary to obtain the FIA’s ‘Grade’ standards,” says Khun Preeda. “For the moment the only thing we will have to do is to reduce the gap between the horizontal barrier sections, now [the gap is] about one and a half inches but we will reduce that to zero next year so we will add an extra piece of steel to close up the gap.”
The FIA’s grading system for circuit recognition involves the layouts meeting an exacting list of requirements that are focused on optimizing safety. For brand new build circuits the main requirements include no straight being longer than 2 km and total track length being less than 7 km, while specific widths are applied, including at the starting grid, with progressive changes in width required and the gradient at the start-finish line being less that 2%.
For circuits that are already in operation and that have held top-level domestic touring car type events, the focus is on making a progressive evolution to meet the Grade standards. Existing street circuits – with their entirely different – and in most cases unique – metrics in terms of run off zones, surface finishes, cambers and changing course widths – are studied by the FIA on a case by case basis and evolutions are recommended.
Attaining an FIA approved status is a key strategy for Bangsaen going forward and that will open up new opportunities for the iconic street race to continue its growth curve, Khun Preeda states. “We are very happy to do everything necessary to fit FIA regulations as that will also allow us to hold more race events of other series that require FIA approval before they can come to Bangsaen.”
By the nature of the event being held annually, there is only a small window of opportunity to invite inspectors to examine the Bangsaen racing operation in action up close. “Being a street circuit we can only invite FIA inspectors once a year but that way we know what else to do,” he says.
Khun Preeda reaffirms that attaining FIA certification will make a huge difference, taking the popular ‘Speed Festival’ onto the next level, and he reckons that the momentum is already in place to build on. “Lots of big international events are interested to participate and have been talking to us and that will make the Festival much more interesting for everyone, especially for the fans,” he says.
Next stop Buriram
Chang International Circuit is an impressive new addition to the racing landscape in Thailand. Developed by Hermann Tilke, the German designer responsible for most of modern era F1 racetracks, its 4.554 km long with 12 turns – and certificated to FIA Grade 1 status. It runs clockwise and the FIA GT3 cars should be reaching very high speeds on the long straights.
A number of drivers already have experience of the track, notably reigning Super Car Class 1-GT3 champion Khun Vutthikorn Inthraphuvasak who starred at the circuit-opening Super GT race. “The circuit is quite attractive, there is a long, long straight line and there’s a high speed corner and there’s a tricky part and there’s many technical parts, you turn left and right and combine the corners, that’s difficult, to be fast is not easy and to combine everything together,” said the six time Super Car champion, although it didn’t stop him dishing out a lesson to the GT300 field.
Also forming a positive impression of the track was Toyota Khun Nattavude Charoensukhawatana, who also driving at Super GT – and he also noted that the track could be broken up into different sections depending on the challenge. “It’s a very nice circuit,” he said. “I split it [up] for the three sectors, the first sector is for the engine, it’s very powerful, the second sector is for technical driving and for the third sector it’s normal. So combined it’s about engine power, set up the suspension and technical driving.”
With a towering 8,800-seat grandstand, a state-of-the-art Race Control Center, 2,000 VIP seats and a 300-seat Media Center, the new track offers an awful lot. For TSS fans it’s a new track that’s a real fit for the ‘New Era’ – and it will provide a perfect rung in the build up to the traditional season closing Bangsaen Thailand Speed Festival.
TSS Race Director Khun Preeda Tantemsapya is confident that the arrival in the North East of TSS will make for an exciting weekend of racing for the fans, particularly so as many championship battles are so close. The weekend is likely to shape the destiny of many titles. “We’re going into the last half of the season now and almost every category is very close, especially in Super Car Class 1 and Class 2 and in Super 2000, so for all the drivers the weekend will be a very good indication of where they are headed,” he says. “We hope we will get new spectators from the area as well our usual loyal spectators, especially as ticket prices are very affordable and it’s also a great way to prepare for the last race in Bangsaen.”
Wearing his hat as Race Director, Khun Preeda is quick to point out that the circuit represents a brand new challenge for the drivers and – as was particularly noticeable during the circuit-opening Super GT race held here earlier this month – ensuring that track limits are observed is going to be a key priority. ”The drivers will have to learn the track,” he says. “The circuit’s reputation is quite strict, track limits are enforced. We will have to educate our drivers to pay attention and obey the track limits.
“We have seen in the races before TSS [comes] here that drivers have gone off the track and accidents can happen when they come back on so everyone will need to obey the rules and then they won’t learn the hard way,” he continues.
There will be an extra ‘event’ in the programme, as TSS will hold its ‘Champions Day 2013’ on the Friday night. “We will also hold the awards night which has been a bit late coming,” Khun Preeda explains. “But we really wanted the new trophy to be perfect and to be fixed for ever so we took our time and we believe the result will be very spectacular.”
The new trophy blends the legendary history of Thai motorsport, its most dramatic moments and its biggest hero into an iconic design that will stand out through time and represent a truly fitting award to the champions of our series that deserve the utmost recognition for their racing skills and sheer perseverance as well as their bravery and dedication in winning the prestigious titles in what is the most competitive racing championship to ever take place in Thailand.
Toyota reaches for the top
Into the Super Car Class 1-GT3 mix at Buriram will come Toyota Team Thailand’s brand new Toyota M101-86, a sensational new addition that has been built by experienced Japanese racecar constructor Dome especially for Super GT’s next-generation GT300 class regulations. It’s already pounded Chang International Circuit in anger at the beginning of the month when the Japanese series rocked up, so this will in fact be its second race on the new circuit.
At Super GT the striking M101-86 was in the hands of Toyota Team Thailand’s star driver Khun Nattavude Charoensukhawatana and Japanese pilot Takeshi Tsuchiya. These drivers however make way for Khun Kazuya Oshima who take over the cockpit in Buriram as this race is seen as a next big opportunity to test and develop the car.
It was a late in the day appointment as the original plan called for Toyota Team Thailand’s Team Manager Khun Suttipong Smittachartch to drive the car in the TSS races; however trackside commitments ruled that out. “Because TSS join Class 1 with Class 2 I cannot drive as Nattavude and Nattapong drive in Class 2 so I need to be on the pit wall to direct,” Khun Suttipong explained. “So I call Mr Oshima from [Japanese team] Gazoo to drive.” He adds that as the Japanese pilot has raced for him in the Bangsaen Endurance Race in recent years so Khun Kazuya is a driver he knows well.
In fact Khun Kazuya is an all-round experienced sportscar driver, having raced in Super GT for the last nine seasons. The 27-year-old first shot to prominence in 2005 when he won the junior single-seater ‘Formula Toyota’ championship while just two years later he won the All-Japan F3 Championship. (In fact, in a real sign of the growth in stature of TSS, the driver who followed him a year later to the prestigious Japanese F3 crown, Khun Carlo Van Dam, will also be racing this weekend, the Dutchman competing in the Super 2000 category. That means the 2007 and 2008 All-Japan F3 Champions will be in action in TSS).
For the last six seasons Khun Kazuya has been racing a Lexus in Super GT’s premier GT500 class while for the last four of those he has driven for Team Le Mans. For this year the Japanese team has switched to the new Lexus RC F. Khun Kazuya actually made his debut in Super GT back in 2006 and promptly won the GT300 title a year later piloting a Toyota MR-S. After making the grade to GT500 in 2009 he has since notched up four wins in Super GT’s top class.
Usefully, the Japanese driver can also count on experience of Buriram already as he raced on the track earlier this month when Super GT came to visit, although it was a less successful outing as he finished in ninth place alongside team mate Khun Yuji Kunimoto. Khun Kazuya currently occupies seventh place in the 2014 Super GT GT500 class championship standings with his best result of the season being a second place at the season opener at Okayama Circuit. A long-time Toyota driver he is ideally suited to help take the development of the new M101-86 forward.
‘Raw’ is certainly the word to describe the M101-86, but at the Super GT race Khun Nattavude’s clear impression was that this car can be turned into a winner. “The car is very impressive because it’s very stiff but I let the Japanese driver test and set up the car,” he said. Khun Nattavude also reckoned it felt unlike anything he has driven before. “I have to learn more and more as I didn’t know how to drive with the M101, so I have to learn but definitely I love to race this car.”
While Khun Nattavude will be back in his regular Class 2-GTM Toyota 86 as he’s locked into defending his title, Khun Kazuya will be entrusted with driving the new car – and continue the development work. Khun Suttipong notes that the settings are not finished yet and as the car continues to evolve there will be many extra hands in the garage.
“Dome and GTA [GT Association] engineers will come,” he confirms. “As the car has done only one race, GTA want to keep an eye on the car, they want to develop it more as last time we just want to finish the race.”
It’s certainly an ambitious project. But on its race debut at Super GT earlier this month the M101-86 showed big flashes of promise – so expect to see yet more flashes of promise this weekend and steady improvement in lap times as Toyota Team Thailand press on with their plans to turn this dramatic car into a winner in time for next year. Don’t be surprised either if this car is knocking on the door of the business end of the Class 1-GT3 action in Buriram.
Powered by passion
The smallest team on the Super Car Class 2-GTM grid is arguably RZ Racing – but what they lack in budget they certainly make up for with passion. Driven by a desire to prove rotary power can be fast, efficient and reliable at the pinnacle of Thai motorsport, they have already proven that.
This year the Rotary Revolution mechanics have crafted a brand new machine after pensioning off the RX-7 they had campaigned for the last half a decade in Super Car. The new RX-8 project came together just in time for May’s season opener in Sepang after a real race against time to finish the build programme but it’s still a development work in progress.
During the time gap since the last round was held at Bira Circuit in early July and next weekend’s races in Buriram, Rotary Revolution’s main development focus for the new RX-8 has been on improving its aerodynamics, a real priority due to the power-sapping straights and high-speed turns of the new racetrack.
“Because the Chang circuit has long straights we are making new aero parts for better downforce and to make the car run faster,” explained Team Manager Khun Ma on Saturday afternoon as the Rotary Revolution staff raced to complete the latest upgrades. “Before we had no aero parts on the RX-8, so with those and suspension [improvements] we make it perfect.” Khun Ma adds that under the skin the powertrain remains in the same format as at the last round.
A new aero pack had been crafted for the car and as usual it’s all been done in-house. By choosing to race the RX-8, which has never enjoyed a widespread international circuit-racing career, the downside for this team is that it has very little access to off-the-shelf race parts. So innovation is the key.
Khun Ma says they have drawn on Japan’s ‘Super GT’ for inspiration, using that series’ traditional aero direction to develop the new body parts – which is somewhat similar to the long time aero thinking at Toyota Team Thailand. “In TSS there are just a few Japanese cars, it’s mostly now cars like Lamborghini or Ferrari,” he notes. “For Japanese cars Thais think of Super GT cars where the aero work is amazing, so we are making it a Super GT car in style, a more beautiful style.” The striking new aero parts cover all four corners of the car as well as including a new front splitter and protruding side sill sections. Thought has also been taken to incorporate rotary shapes into the new designs, such as the side positioned rear view mirrors, which have unmistakable rotary cues and are mounted in ‘traditional’ style on the front wings.
At the same time as it is developing and upgrading its new RX-8, which is still only two race weekends old, Rotary Revolution has set itself another ambitious target and is now starting to build a second new car, this time though it is aimed at the newest category, Super Car Class 3-GTC.
Lessons have already been learnt from the Class 2-GTM RX-8 project, and this new car, which will also be an RX-8, will aim to tackle the biggest challenge they have experienced with their second Super Car build – overall weight. “For the Class 3 car our main problem [to solve] is to make [it] lighter,” says Khun Ma.
“It’s difficult for us to make it lighter, so we take our time to have the rollcage made and to make a lighter car and also lighter parts. This [current] car is heavy, about 1,300 kilos so the target is 1,100 kilos only, so 200 kilos difference, so a big difference and that’s difficult.” Having now created a full set of body part moulds for the Class 2 RX-8 the team will be able to reuse these for the forthcoming Class 3 car, which is currently being fabricated and having the rollcage fitted.
The new Class 3-GTC machine could appear at Bangsaen – but it’s touch and go. “Hopefully we are going to make Bangsaen, but I’m not sure,” says Khun Ma. “If not we are going to use [the current] car for Class 2 again.” When the new car does arrive it will be driven by Khun Pete Thongchua as usual.
Big ambition
A big track, with big run offs, a big grandstand, a big paddock – and also big ambitions would seem just about right for a big car with a big driver – and also big ambitions.
In joint third place in the Super Car Class 2-GTM Drivers’ Championship standings heading to Buriram this coming weekend is Khun Craig Corliss in the Holden Commodore VE. The New Zealander is just 12 points adrift of the factory-run Toyota 86 of Khun Nattavude Charoensukhawatana in second spot and just over a win’s worth of points off the Ferrari 458 Challenge of Khun Voravud Bhirombhakdi who occupies the top of the classification – so he’s still right in the championship hunt.
Khun Craig’s powerful Holden should really suit the Buriram circuit layout and he can be expected to be aiming for race wins. Arguably, not since his previous Ford Falcon brutalised the long and ultra fast straights of the Sa Kaeo temporary airfield track has the big New Zealander gone into a race weekend in such a competitive position.
Last week Khun Craig got his first look at the new track and took the opportunity to learn its new characteristics as well as start to set up his big former ‘Australian V8’ machine to its demands – and he was instantly impressed! “What an amazing track,” he said afterwards. “It’s fast and very deceptive with turns that never end until you nearly fall off the track.
“My first practice was very slow as I tried to understand the lines,” he continued. “I got a puncture and that was the end of practice, it was a very brief introduction to Chang Circuit.” Khun Craig had another blow out in the next session but by the time he had his first longer run he was able to knock chunks out of his time, in fact loping 5 seconds off his first session pace. That was the same story for his final run, although an electrical short cut down his competitive running time.
One of the Holden’s biggest strengths is its consistent race distance pace, the big orange-and-black car tends to drop off less than its rivals allowing Khun Craig to often snap up places late in races – and clearly that form is going to carry over to the particular characteristics of the Buriram circuit. “[I was] getting faster each lap in race [conditions] as I normally do when others are slowing,” he noted.
Overall he was very happy with his first look at the new circuit and believes that he should be locked in the thick of the action at the business end of the pack next weekend. “Apart from the dirt on the track from two corners, which created big grip issues, it’s very exciting to drive,” Khun Craig said. “A big thumbs up to the owners and developers for a great presentation for all to enjoy. Bring on TSS I can’t wait, I have a big appetite for a taste of the podium.”