The smallest racecars within the bumper programme of last month’s 8th Bangsaen Thailand Speed Festival were in fact some of the biggest stars of the most glamorous annual motorsport extravaganza in Thailand. Namely Super Production and Super Eco and both categories dished up nail biting races with the destiny of the respective titles fought out to dramatic conclusions on the streets of Bangsaen.
Super Production has a long standing reputation for providing some of the closest and evenly matched racing to be found in Thailand today, it’s always popular with the fans and it’s the arena where the names of the future stars enter paddock vocabulary. This year though Super Production quite simply redefined its reputation for closeness as the most titanic scrap for the title in its history played out.
Reigning champion Khun Kajornsak Na Songkhla and championship pretender Khun Pasarit Phromsombat went head to head right from the first race in Sepang and the balance swung each way until they arrived in Bangsaen with Khun Pasarit edging out some daylight at the previous round. That daylight was swept away in the first race in Bangsaen and the duo went into the final encounter separated by one point – but crucially Khun Pasarit would start the second and final race from the back of the grid.
He didn’t stay there for long and soon caught his rival, the pair then traded places and the mathematics was very simple, whoever finished in front of the other would be the champion. The destiny of the title was in fact decided on the final lap of green flag running. It simply cannot get any closer than that and there was a solitary point separating them in the final standings.
In Super Eco Khun Poomee Phromatham still needed points to wrap up the title and that’s never a given on this challenging street circuit which can turn round and deliver a harsh lesson to even the most experienced driver. Track respect is everything in Bangsaen and Khun Poomee understood that, he sealed the second ever Super Eco title in the first race, and released from the pressure, he ran away the winner in the second race to make it a crushing final points table.
Super Eco was devised by Thailand Super Series (TSS) to allow potential drivers to get a foot onto the racing ladder, to learn and progress, and at the end of its second season it’s doing just this and much more. Super Eco has already become a prestigious championship in its own right and conquering the tricky streets of Bangsaen is now certainly part of any Thai driver’s learning process.
Bangsaen: Super Production
Khun Anders Majgaard ran out the winner of both Super Production races in Bangsaen in the blue and white #29 CEA Racing Honda City, but it was just behind him where all eyes were most closely focused all weekend as the destiny of the 2014 title, which had been in doubt all season, went right down to the wire in Bangsaen. Right down to the final green flag lap of the final race of the year.
Khun Kajornsak Na Songkhla and Khun Pasarit Phromsombat had slugged it out all year, but there were still plenty more twists in the tale left to play out in Bangsaen, in fact the final weekend of the season would seesaw in the direction of both drivers before the title was finally decided. And when it was, the margin was just a single point.
These two had battled it out from the off. Their struggle for supremacy kicked off during first race at Sepang last May as 2013 Champion Khun Kajornsak in the #4 Ford Fiesta got his defence off to a winning start while Khun Pasarit, driving the RMI Racing by Sunoco #69 Honda Jazz, clearly stated his title ambitions with a fighting third place. Advantage quickly switched though as in the second race Khun Pasarit was first past checkered flag while Khun Kajornsak was second.
At the second round, held at Bira Circuit, Khun Pasarit hit a big setback as he picked up only 4 points from the first race after finishing down in seventh; meanwhile Khun Kajornsak extended his advantage at the top with third place. However the second race of the weekend would see Khun Pasarit bounce back with a win and then a double victory in Buriram put him into a seven point lead going into Bangsaen. Khun Kajornsak was hot on his heels though as two third places at Bira Circuit in the second round were followed up by two runners up spots in Buriram, where he switched from his usual Fiesta to NSports’ Honda City. In fact these two locked out the top two positions in both races in the penultimate round in the North East. That was the state of play as the pair prepared for last month’s double header finale.
The pendulum very quickly swung the other way again in Bangsaen however as Khun Pasarit suffered his first DNF of the year during the opening laps of the first race. “I got into an accident at MP29 [Marshall Post 29] on the third lap,” he recalled. “Unfortunately, the radiator was damaged [so I had] to quit the race to prevent [the] engine breaking.”
That no points score meant the 8 points that Khun Kajornsak bagged for finishing fifth was just enough to wipe out his 7 point deficit and put the reigning champion into a 1 point lead as the Super Production cars lined up for Sunday’s final race of the season.
And it got even worse than a zero points score in the opener for Khun Pasarit as he would thus start down towards the back end of the grid, his task made even tougher as Super 1500 was running together with Super Production in Bangsaen so he would have even more cars to pass if he wanted to force his was up the order and into the reckoning. Real nail-biting stuff as the pack lined up on the dummy grid for Sunday’s final race of the year.
There was still a sting in the tail though as the two titans of ‘Super Production 2014′ eventually finished third and fourth after a 13-lap race that – literally – went down to the wire, the very last lap of green flag racing in fact sorted out the destiny of the title, Khun Pasarit just edging out his rival by one place after a stunning drive up the field.
With a 34-strong combined grid of Super 1500 and Super Production cars Khun Pasarit started down in twenty-eighth spot. It really seemed hopeless at that point, especially as Khun Kajornsak knows exactly how to win titles. But at the green lights Khun Pasarit was in blistering form; he passed four cars on the first lap, three more on the second lap and nailed another four the third time around. He edged out a couple more drivers the next time round and that brought him onto the tail of Khun Kajornsak at the end of the fourth lap. Impressive driving.
Then a titanic scrap played out, as Khun Pasarit tried to find a way past Khun Kajornsak in this ‘winner takes all’ battle. After three laps of trying to find an opening he did, only for his rival to depose him on the next lap and wrestle the place back. With the clock rapidly ticking away and just 6 laps remaining the #69 Honda Jazz driver had very little time left to find a way past for a second time – and to then make it stick.
Khun Pasarit simply couldn’t find a way to get clear of his rival over the next three laps – and Khun Kajornsak doesn’t make many mistakes so there’s no point in waiting for one to happen. But then with just four laps remaining Khun Pasarit got ahead and crucially one of the Super 1500 cars that was right behind the pair also took advantage and ended up sandwiched between them. That pass came with very fortunate timing as the Safety Car was deployed for the final three laps and it was race over.
That meant Khun Pasarit gained two extra points and his overnight one point deficit to Khun Kajornsak suddenly became a one-point advantage. That’s how the championship finished, Khun Pasarit on 148 points and Khun Kajornsak on 147 points – it couldn’t have been any closer.
The new champion was happy to emerge on top after a long and tough season and especially after his major setback on the first day in Bangsaen. “I am glad to win Super Production class [title],” said Khun Pasarit. “This year was a very exciting season. Racing against [a] highly experienced and skillful driver like [Khun Kajornsak] made it a memorable year to me. Due to the accident in Saturday’s race, I started from the back and [I] have to finish in [a] better position than [Khun Kajornsak] to get the title. That was quite a [lot of] pressure for me.” It sure was.
That season long battle between two highly experienced drivers that couldn’t be pulled apart until the very end is really the secret of Super Production’s success, ultra close, very competitive and as evenly matched racing as you will find everywhere. It attracts many of the top Thai drivers, experienced hands – such as Khun Pasarit and Khun Kajornsak – who mix it up with the raw stars of tomorrow in a diverse range of balanced racecars that always allow the drivers’ skills to shine through.
And it’s not just about drivers; interestingly Super Production has zoomed onto Mazda Sales Thailand’s radar and it’s been supporting a pair of Mazda2s developed and run by Innovation Motorsport, with additional input from Mazda’s global race engineering expertise, since the middle of last season.
Behind the wheel of the cars are Khun Michael Freeman and Khun Pete Thongchua, but the fans’ main focus in Bangsaen was centered on the Australian as he looked to seal third place in the overall championship, a very impressive result for a rapidly emerging driver who only started racing trucks for fun a few years ago, and has since then honed himself into one of the best in the business in these unique machines before taking on the challenge of racing one of the little B-segment sedans which Innovation Motorsport has built from the ground up.
Khun Michael went into the weekend with youngster Khun Thanapol Pruttipong in the #23 OMP Vattana Honda Jazz looking to challenge him for third spot and in the first race the latter claimed third overall while the Mazda driver was down in seventh. That closed the gap down to just 1 point – but as Khun Michael admitted afterwards, he and Race Engineer Khun Ross Holder did a lot of thinking on Saturday evening and put his mind in the right place. That worked perfectly and the Australian was sensational in the second race, he finished second overall to lock away the title and had the winner in his sights, although with points being the priority there wasn’t going to be any heroics.
“The [Mazda]2 on Sunday was great after Saturday’s race [when there was] Safety Car after Safety Car and my inability to quickly get past Super 1500 cars that knocked two seconds a lap off when you caught them,” explained Khun Michael. “Although I captured some points on Saturday to finish behind Pete in seventh it was below my standard this year and I did a lot of soul searching Saturday night. Sunday, starting behind Anders, there was only one plan and that was to follow the guy that had won the last two races.”
The plan worked perfectly and with Khun Thanapol Pruttipong retiring at half distance following an incident with the #17 Mazda2, the pressure was further lifted. In the end Khun Michael took third in the championship with 114 points, Khun Thanapol Pruttipong was fourth with 98 points while Khun Michael’s teammate, Khun Pete, made it both Innovation Motorsport Mazdas in the top-five final overall standings as 6 points in the first race was good enough to move him up to 83 points and although he suffered a DNF in the second race after contact with the #23 Jazz, that kept him 5 points clear of Khun Passakron Yamgathom who enjoyed a double podium, runner up in the first race and fifth in the second, to zoom up the standings to finish the year in sixth place with 78 points.
Seventh place in the final classification went to Khun Sirisak Manthugumphol (72 points), eighth was claimed by Khun Nattachak Hanjitkasem (64 points) while ninth went to Khun Thanasit Bhunyatharanonth (58 points).
Khun Piyalert Boonyakiat completed the top ten in the overall championship; he finished the year on 57 points. He was also the only driver apart from the runaway top two, Khun Pasarit and Khun Kajornsak, to win a race this year before the last round. However skipping the trip to Sepang proved costly as his season run-in was highly impressive as he added a second and third place to that victory before arriving at Bangsaen, which turned out to be a less rewarding to him. The OMP Vattana Motorsport driver’ made a trip to the podium in the first race after finishing fourth, but retired in the final race. Still that was good enough to see him wrap up the championship top ten overall.
As well as locking down the overall title there was an added bonus for Khun Pasarit (167 points) as he also wrapped up the Class B title, finishing ahead of Khun Thanapol Pruttipong (139 points) who had an excellent season and in fact the youngster never finished off the Class B podium until the final race in Bangsaen where he retired. That equated to one win, two second places, three third places and one fourth place. Khun Sirisak took one class win on his way to third in the championship (120 points) while the only other driver to take a Class B victory this year, Khun Passakron (99 points) added that in Bangsaen, as well as a second place, to elevate himself to fifth in the final championship standings. Between them, Khun Nattachak (100 points) took fourth place in the Class B championship, a third and a fourth place in Bangsaen allowing him to edge Khun Passakron by a single point.
In Class C, Khun Witawin Sondthiraksa had made the title a formality before Bangsaen and his third place in the first race eliminated the remote mathematics while a win in the final race put the seal on an empathic season. The Singha XO Team Eakie driver’ romped away to 172 points while the runner up, Khun Paul Kenny was able to retain his spot although he didn’t score race points in Bangsaen.
Third place in the Class C championship went to Khun Andrey Snetkov, he retired in the first race at Bangsaen but third place in the final race allowed the Russian driver, who is only in his second ever year of racing, to move up one place to third. Fourth in the standings went to Khun Anusorn Asiralertsiri (80 points) while fifth was Khun Raris Yoovidhya (64 points) who retired early in both races, a disappointment after his team had to expend a lot of effort repairing the front right hand corner of the car after a crash in practice.
In the Teams’ overall championship, PTT Performa RPM Singha (139 points) came out on top, thanks mainly to the efforts of Khun Kajornsak. It was very close for the runners up spot; that fight was edged by Parker Innovation Motorsport (117 points) after squeezing out OMP Vattana Motorsport (115 points) by just two points. Wrapping up that impressive second place in Bangsaen was also very handy timing for the Laem Chabang based team as Khun Tod Kaneko, Head of Advanced Engineering at Mazda North American Operations, which rather more relevantly to the team includes responsibility for the Mazdaspeed racing division, was in the paddock to keep an eye on the progress of the Mazda2s.
Fourth place in the overall final points classification, with 108 points, went to RMI Racing by Sunoco, which also claimed the Class B Teams’ title. Meanwhile Singha XO Team Eakie bagged Class C Teams’ honours.
Danish delight
He slipped up on his return to Super Production at Buriram last November but Khun Anders Majgaard’s pace was simply electrifying just over five weeks later in Bangsaen. He also came into the weekend as something of a proven quantity on this circuit as he had won the final Super Production race here last year. His feet were already halfway under the table, so to speak.
The Dane simply didn’t put a foot wrong in the first race and despite the intervention of the Safety Car, which closed the pack up, he had more than 10 seconds in hand at the end of the 13 lap race. No one had an answer to Khun Anders in the CEA Racing Honda City and counting back to last year’s street race that made it two consecutive Super Production wins in Bangsaen for this experienced driver.
“After the qualifying we started third and the organisers’ put the two categories [Super 1500 and Super Production] together so it was a tough start because there was a lot of battles at the beginning and everyone hit each other and stuff like that,” Khun Anders recalled. “But I got away and got up to second and then there was a Safety Car but after the Safety Car I then got into the lead and made a big gap and won the race. The car has been so good, Thomas [Raldorf] from the CEA team and his new mechanics this year and our team have all been very good.”
The Super Production opener was held over 13 laps, lasted just over 37 minutes and with the circuit being 3.7 km long that equated to a total race distance of just under 50 km. That’s in fact a far cry from Khun Anders’ more usual racing focus. With his team, Jet Black Racing, he’s participated plenty of 12- and 24-hour races, including the Dubai 24 Hours, where he’s previously won his class, as well as the Silverstone 24 Hours, Barcelona 24 Hours, and Nürburgring 24 Hours.
The second race saw the same script play out, but once again Khun Anders had to work for the win as the top five on the grid is reversed from the results of the first race, so the Dane in fact started from the third row.
This is a driver who races with caution and bides his time before choosing his moment and picking his way through the traffic to avoid the contact that’s so much a feature of Super Production. He didn’t have to wait long though as he was busy pulling out a lead well before the race had reached half distance. That victory in fact made it three consecutive wins in Bangsaen.
“They changed the first five and I started from fifth on the grid and I think it took me three laps and I was leading and then I had 15 seconds [advantage],” Khun Anders recalled. “But then we had an accident again and there was a Safety Car and after we just made for the finish.”
Khun Anders was delighted to claim both wins. “It was an excellent weekend, everything was really good,” he said. He also admits to enjoying the challenge of Bangsaen. “I really love street circuits, that and the [Nürburgring] Nordschleife,” he added with a laugh.
Bangsaen: Super Eco
The second season of Super Eco wrapped on the streets of Bangsaen with the seventh and eighth races of the season for the tiny 1.2-litre cars that see competition preparation focused mainly around safety with the concept being to provide a breeding ground for the racing stars of tomorrow.
It’s proved to be a successful format so far, the first year’s champion, Khun Daychapon Toyingcharoen immediately graduated to Super Car Class 3-GTC and claimed third place in the final championship standings while the second champion, Khun Poomee Phromatham was crowned in Bangsaen last month. In reality it was something of a formality, he played it cautiously, at least by his high standards, to finish runner up in the first race and seal the title while he signed off emphatically with a win in the second race.
The weekend started off with pole for Khun Naruchit Kiatmaneesri in the #46 Honda Brio, he’s a well known face in the paddock, has been on the ‘Eco’ pace all season and came into the weekend with strong form, have bagged a second and third place finish in the previous two races. So it wasn’t a great surprise to see Khun Naruchit claim P1 with a best lap of 2:13.261, which put him 1.1 seconds clear of Khun Peerawat Tawantarong.
Third fastest in qualifying went to the youngest driver in TSS, Khun Kmik Karnasuta, who has been up at the front of the pack all season, while the second row for the first race was rounded out by Khun Chitipong Boonbangyang who has won this year already, and like Khun Kmik, had his eyes on the championship runners up spot.
Saturday’s opening race, which kicked off at the early time of 0840, saw a first victory of the season for Khun Peerawat, 2.3 seconds ahead of Khun Poomee who drove carefully to win the title with a race to spare. Eight tenths further back was Khun Warut Kanwisit as the top three finishers pulled twenty seconds clear the next driver, Khun Chitipong, by the time the 4-lap race saw the checkered flag. The top five was wrapped up by Khun Boonlit Wongwisutthirat.
The second race saw Khun Poomee romp away to a 13.442 second win over Khun Boonlit who was able to capitalize on his pole position thanks to the top-five of the first five being reversed on the grid for the second race. Khun Peerawat backed up his win the day before with third place in the second race and that allowed him to jump up the final points classification into fifth place.
Fourth place in the final race of the year went to Khun Warut and that meant he also moved up the final championship standings to third. Fifth place went to Khun Chitipong who cemented the championship runners up spot. Khun Kmik wrapped up the top six.
In the final standings Khun Poomee finished with 125 points, well clear of Khun Chitipong who had 78 points. Third went to Khun Warut (62 points) who finished on equal points to Khun Kmik but got the nod thanks to his win in Buriram. Khun Peerawat finished fifth with 56 points while Khun Bhisanu Bhusitarnuntakul completed the top six with 44 points.
Championship knock out
Super Eco crowned its second champion in Bangsaen. After winning the first four races of the season straight Khun Poomee Phromatham stumbled in Buriram but still arrived in Bangsaen with a hefty 30-point cushion at the top.
That meant he needed just a single fourth place finish to lift the title out of anyone else’s reach, as, thanks to that winning streak, he would come out on top of any tiebreak. Khun Poomee drove conservatively – by his own admission – but still finished runner up in the first race to put the crown to bed. Released from having to focus on the points’ classification the #18 Honda Brio driver powered away from the rest of the field in the final race to end the season in style and also nab his first winners prize in Bangsaen, adding one of the most prestigious individual trophies in Thai motorsport to the title.
However, while this has been Khun Poomee’s rookie year in TSS, he did race a Vios at Bangsaen last year so had some useful track time to draw upon as he looked to absorb the extra pressures of racing on a street circuit and nail down the title. He was though enjoying being back on this 3.7-km street circuit. “Overall, the track was good [and] it has every aspect of street racing,” he said.
Clearly he has talent, but certainly one of the keys to Khun Poomee’s rookie success in Super Eco appears to have been down to attention to every detail, leaving no stone unturned in his pursuit of winning. He’s thought about every aspect of racing in depth, learned, analysed and perfected.
And it’s paid of impressively. ‘Eco’ racing is supposed to be the most level playing field in Thai motorsport where everyone is equal, but Khun Poomee forgot to read the script. Over the first four races of the year no one could get anywhere near him and by the time he tripped up in Buriram he had a big enough margin to mean that all he had to do was join up the final dots.
In that vein of thinking everything through, Khun Poomee made sealing the title his main priority in Bangsaen, admitting that he adopted a cautious approach throughout practice, qualifying and the first race – especially needed on these streets where any racecar is always just inches away from sustaining major damage at any point. His accident in Buriram, which abruptly ended his stunning winning streak and left him nursing his first zero points score of the year, had probably in fact offered a valuable lesson. “Coming to Bangsaen [I was] ahead by 30 points, for me it would be reckless to push to the limit,” he admits. “So I did go slow in the practice and qualifying sessions.”
He’s been single-mindedly focused on winning the championship so it seems a little bit obvious to ask him if he’s happy now that it’s finally nailed down? “Of course I am very pleased to win the Super Eco title,” Khun Poomee says. “Not only myself, but for the whole team. I could not have done it without the great teamwork behind my back with all the support that they have given me.”
His team, C-Four Motorsport, has certainly worked very hard all year, many people were surprised after his big bump in Buriram that the car was patched up overnight in time to take part in the final race of that weekend and that it then successfully carried him to the podium. And Khun Poomee doesn’t make light of his efforts to win the title – noting that the crash upset his perfect record of picking up points in every race. “It has never been easy in racing,” he says. “Everything can happen in the circuit like I had crashed earlier on in Race 5 at Buriram.” In fact, apart from that one DNF, he never finished outside the top four all year. An impressive run.
Not only did C-Four Motorsport patch the car up, but Khun Poomee says that one of his strengths has been the team always giving him a well-setup car that was ready to do battle within the very strict preparation limitations permitted by the Super Eco regulations. “The car came as close as coming out of the line at the factory,” he notes. “Thanks to the team who had managed it really well. The handling was perfect which put less burden on me during the race.”
Winning at Bangsaen is a little bit special for any racing driver and Khun Poomee isn’t going to dispute that. “Personally, everyone dreams to be on the top of the podium at Bangsaen as it’s one of the most challenging street circuits in the world,” he says.
It certainly was the icing on the cake of a fantastic season. “I am over the moon,” Khun Poomee continues. “I could not believe that I did it. It was so surreal. For me, street circuits are grounds to prove competitors’ abilities and potentialities. Inch perfect is required and you cannot make any mistakes. To sum up all, I do like street circuits.”
It was an emphatic title margin too. Khun Poomee ended the year with 125 points while his closest rival had 78 points. That’s a staggering 47-point gap after eight races. His winning margin equates to the points of two wins and a sixth place or even three runners up spots. Emphatic.
With the title now in the bag, Khun Poomee gets ejected from Super Eco – after all this category is aimed squarely at beginner drivers – although having seen him clamber up to the top step of the podium so many times this year it’s hard to regard him as a ‘beginner’ anymore.
He’s also more than ready to graduate. “The plan this year [2015] will be a big step up for me into [Super] Production and yet another tough year to come,” he says. A brand-new Honda Jazz is being lined up and his is a name that will most likely be found pretty high up the timesheets, although it’s a highly competitive category and potential newcomers face many fast and experienced old hands.
Khun Poomee also confirms that C-Four Motorsport will also run his Brio again this year in Super Eco, although it’s going to need a lot of close season repair work. “We are in the process of finding and training a new face to succeed the title,” he says. “It will be really difficult, but this is what we plan for next year.”