Thailand Super Series (TSS) is set to see a Ferrari invasion this year – and that will start with Singha Motorsport Team Thailand, which will start its third full season in Super Car with the Prancing Horse cars. The outfit, backed by the official Ferrari importer for Thailand, Cavallino Motors, battled all the way to the Super Car Class 2-GTM Drivers’ championship title last year, thanks to the superb efforts of Khun Voravud Bhirombhakdi.
The crack team will now add a second Ferrari 458 Challenge to its lineup this year, the new car going to formidable young hotshot Khun Kantasak Kusiri. That’s going to make for one heck of a formidable driver pairing and – as well as aiming to successfully defend the Drivers’ title – Singha Motorsport Team Thailand has to be amongst the top favourites to claim the Teams’ crown as well.
Meanwhile, the newest category, Super Car Class 3-GTC, is starting to see the competitor list for ‘Season 2’ build up and one of the winners from ‘Season 1’ in the Super Car ‘entry level’ category, Khun Chayut Yangpichit, will be back in the TT Motorsport Mitsubishi Evo X that he drove to a sensational debut victory in Buriram late last year. The car has been returned to Japan for a new engine and upgrades so he should be bang on the winning pace this year.
It won’t stop there for TT Motorsport, which in fact will be running no less than six cars this year. That list includes a new Honda City for long-established Super 1500 front runner Khun Anon Rodprasert who will switch to Super Production this year, as well as two new-generation Honda Jazz GK racecars, one of which will be piloted by Khun Ray McDonald, who is joining the team, and just like Khun Anon, is also stepping across from Super 1500.
Khun Kantadhee Kusiri enjoyed a promising learning ‘rookie’ season in Super 2000 last year. Now Team Eakie is putting the finishing touches to a brand new machine that should allow the youngster to fight at the front of the pack during the upcoming season. That new Toyota 86 has just been under the spotlights during a ‘showcase’ appearance at the 36th Bangkok International Motor Show where it saw a lot of interest from the race fans. Now Khun Kantadhee knows the level of Super 2000, this time around driver and team aim to deliver.
Finally, the champions of the second season of Thailand Super Series were honored during a glamorous celebratory evening, which took place at the Royal Bangkok Sports Club in the city’s Pathum Wan district. The winners received the iconic champions trophies while there was also a prestigious new award introduced, that for ‘Rising Star’.
Last year Khun Voravud Bhirombhakdi was meticulously well prepared, fought very hard, thought just as hard and in the end that all added up perfectly to see him edge the Super Car Class 2-GTM title. That was his second season in Super Car driving the Ferrari 458 Challenge and he kicked off the year with a double win in Sepang as he firmly set his sights on the title and in fact never relinquished his grip on the top of the classification over the rest of the season.
This is a driver that has methodically made his way to the top; he’s also methodically improved his supporting team and methodically improved his car, albeit within the narrow confines that the rules allow for the Ferrari 458 Challenge.
It was quite a close run to the title last year. Coming into Bangsaen his advantage had been whittled away, but on tricky streets where only the best drivers, backed up by the best pitwall thinking, prosper, he was in full control and – barring any on track mishaps – the destiny of the title appeared to have decided almost as soon as the Super Cars hit the asphalt at speed.
However, last year Singha Motorsport Team Thailand entered just one car (apart from during the season opener in Sepang) with just one main objective. The team was built up around Khun Voravud with the single focus of claiming the Drivers’ title. It was certainly a case of ‘mission accomplished’.
But this is clearly an ambitious team, indeed it carries the flag for Cavallino Motors Co. Ltd., the official Ferrari importer for Thailand, so for this year there will be new and bigger objectives.
The team will remain in Super Car Class 2-GTM but is expanding to run two cars for the full year, bringing in one of Thailand’s fastest young drivers, Khun Kantasak Kusiri, to compliment the winning experience and proven speed of Khun Voravud. It will give the team one of the strong lineups – on paper at least – when the season kicks off in Buriram next month.
Khun Voravud explained the step forward for 2015 on the sidelines of the recent ‘TSS Champions Day 2014’ – where he was picking up his Drivers’ championship trophy. “I have to defend the title this year so I will be staying in the same class as in 2014,” he said. “I will have a new teammate [Khun Kantasak], he’s a very good driver, very fast also, so we will have the team more ready now. Last year it was only me, this [year] we will be more prepared, definitely.”
As well as the two Singha Motorsport Team Thailand entries there could be up to four Ferrari 458 Challenge machines in Super Car Class 2-GTM this season as the numbers of the Italian sportscar arriving here continue to grow.
One of those will actually be brand new, as Khun Voravud has ordered a fresh car for this year. This will in fact be a Ferrari 458 Challenge ‘EVO’, the latest specification of Ferrari’s ‘one make’ racecar, which was introduced into the brand’s global ‘Challenge’ racing series last year. Khun Voravud gave the new car a shakedown during the opening round of ‘Ferrari Challenge Asia Pacific 2015’, which was held at Sepang Circuit last month.
“I have got a new car,” he said. “Three weeks ago I went and raced in Sepang in the Ferrari Challenge, just to get the feel [of the new car]. I finished third overall and second in my class [in Race 1] and the day after I finished third again and first in my class [in Race 2] but I got a 30 second penalty so I dropped down.”
Thus all the boxes have been checked off for this driver’s title defence and by drafting in Khun Kantasak that should give Singha Motorsport Team Thailand the best of both worlds – one of the strongest team lineups in Class 2-GTM.
Last year the youngster graduated from Super 2000 to Super Car, driving a Porsche 997 in Class 2-GTM. Khun Kantasak set about translating his front-engine/front-wheel-drive touring car skills to the rear-engine/rear-wheel-driver sportscar and was quickly fighting for the podium positions in a car that was clearly something of a compromise.
Khun Voravud agrees that’s it’s going to give the team a great platform from which to target multiple titles this year. “Obviously we’re not just looking for the individual [championship], but the Teams’ too, so definitely we think there is a possibility,” he said. “We know the Challenge car is still not the fastest car on the grid, but with the teamwork we have shown last year and with the consistency we achieved, if we can do that with both cars I’m sure we can win.”
With the Ferrari 458 Challenge having already been attuned to the Class 2-GTM rules, continuing to refine the overall package will be the way forward once again.
“The car is the same as last year,” says Khun Voravud. “Our weak point is the tyres and we will do a test soon. So other than that it’s team play, Luca [Soli] my race engineer will be here with us again, Carlo [Van Dam] will be coaching me again, so hopefully we will have a chance to defend [the Drivers’ title].”
It’s shaping up to be the most competitive Super Car season ever as the entry list continues to grow with new, cutting edge machines continuing to arrive. Khun Voravud doesn’t underestimate the task ahead. “It will be tough, we know the [Porsche] 991 will be very quick, the Audi [R8 LMS Cup] is very quick also,” he notes. But Singha Motorsport Team Thailand is ready, very well prepared – and quietly confident.
TT Motorsport is preparing for a very busy season in TSS with six drivers running across three categories. That list starts with team owner Khun Chayut Yangpichit who will drive a Mitsubishi Evo X (see separate story) in Super Car Class 3-GTM as well as his longtime Honda DC 5 in Super 2000.
Two regular drivers for the team, meanwhile, will be back in their usual Honda Civic FDs, Khun Jetsada Yangpichit and Khun Arthit Masathirakul. However while these first three drivers and their racecars continue relatively unchanged for another season there will be swinging changes for the other half of the TT Motorsport lineup.
That starts with Khun Anon Rodprasert who will switch to Super Production after half a dozen years running at the business end of Super 1500. He will drive a Honda City, which is now being prepared at the team’s workshops in Bearing. The car is actually almost brand new, having taken part in just one race last year.
Khun Anon feels that the time is right to move across to Super Production, as it will provide a different, but equally, tough and highly competitive challenge. “Super Production is for newer models, Super 1500 is [for] older cars,” he says. “This year [there will be] so many cars in Super Production.”
A proven quick driver, Khun Anon, will be hoping to translate his pace over to Super Production, and with a model of car that’s proved very well suited to the category, and he says his target will be to be on the podium in every race. “I’m aiming for positions one to five,” he adds.
Finally TT Motorsport, which was founded in 1999, initially to compete in Cross-Country Rallies, will also run two new-generation Honda Jazz GK racecars. Well known actor-turned-racer Khun Ray McDonald will join the team this year and he also will step his career across from Super 1500 to race in Super Production with a new Jazz. That car is currently under construction in the workshops. The team will also enter a second new Jazz GK.
Experienced Thai racer and owner of TT Motorsport, Khun Chayut Yangpichit, is gearing up for an exciting ‘double’ challenge in TSS this year, as he will contest a full season in both Super Car Class 3-GTC and Super 2000.
Khun Chayut certainly has a firm base to build on for his 2015 programme as he raced in both categories last year, taking in three rounds in Super 2000 as well as a single appearance ‘toe-dip’ in Super Car Class 3-GTC at Buriram. And the year threw up plenty of success for him as, although he picked up a few DNFs in Super 2000, where he ran his regular Honda DC 5, he still took an impressive runners-up spot in Buriram and finished the year with another trip to the podium in Bangsaen.
But it was in Super Car Class 3-GTC where he caused the biggest upset after taking a sensational debut win in Buriram. Arriving in the new ‘entry level’ Super Car class with a Mitsubishi Evo X belonging to Cusco Japan – and which had originally been sent to Thailand to take part in Gymkhana events – he impressively claimed the top step of the podium.
The Evo X in fact was a former rally machine with broadly similar suspension still retained while it was also lacking in the grunt required for the high-speed straights of Buriram. It was a great way to make his Class 3-GTC debut, although he was quick to admit that circumstances had helped him. “It was a lucky win actually,” he said.
Buriram was though a one-off appearance in Class 3-GTC last year so the car didn’t appear at Bangsaen and in January it was shipped back to Cusco Japan for upgrade work to make it much better suited to the category’s regulations for 2015. “The car went for carnet [customs procedure] back to Japan as it has to be returned after one year,” explains Khun Chayut. “This year it will come [back to Thailand] at the end of April with a new engine fitted so that should approximately have about 400 horsepower with the restrictor and should be enough for Class 3.”
In Buriram last November the Evo X looked quite competitive when going up against the other Class 3-GTC entries and Khun Chayut agrees with that assessment. “The car handles very well, the setup and suspension is very good,” he says.
As a proven package it promises to also enjoy reliability and that will give him a great platform to make a serious bid for the title this year. Khun Chayut is revved up for the challenge. “I will try my best and hopefully I will get full support from all the sponsors and Cusco Japan,” he says. The main support for his programme will come from Star Flag, Mercedes-Benz Authorized Dealer in Bangkok’s Phaya Thai district, which is the brand’s first flagship store in Thailand.
Meanwhile, as well as the Evo X in Super Car Class 3-GTC, Khun Chayut will also run his venerable Honda DC 5 for a full season in Super 2000 this year. A quick and proven ‘touring car’ driver and a racecar that is still clearly competitive means he should be capable of chasing podium finishes, although the standard of machinery in the category admittedly continues to climb fast.
With his main focus though on the Evo X, the DC 5 won’t see any new close-season upgrades, but it should be able to carry its pace forward for another year. “It’s still the same car, now I invest in the Evo only,” says Khun Chayut. “Hopefully for the budget I’m spending it’s the best running car for the price.”
Competing in both Super Car Class 3-GTC and Super 2000 with the support of Star Flag means no less than four races during the weekend and as these key two categories tend to be scheduled very close together on the programme Khun Chayut will need to have a lot of stamina, especially in the blistering Thai heat. Already possessing very good fitness levels, this driver says that he will be also looking to be extra physically prepared this year. “I have to have good fitness, so that is one thing I need to do also,” he says. Clearly expect to see Khun Chayut fighting for honors at the business end of the action this season in both categories.
Super 2000, arguably the most close-fought category in the TSS programme, is now getting set for another ultra-competitive season and there are plenty of young hotshot drivers with their eyes ambitiously on the title.
Certainly one of those will be Khun Kantadhee Kusiri. He’s the younger brother of Khun Kantasak who electrified Super 2000 before he graduated to Super Car Class 2-GTM last year. At the same time as his brother was stepping up, Khun Kantadhee arrived and made his debut in Super 2000, graduating straight from Super 1500 where he had comfortably won the title the season before.
But it was really a toe-dip year ‘rookie’ year for Khun Kantadhee in Super 2000, learning the ropes at the wheel of Team Eakie’s well-travelled Toyota Altezza.
That was the team’s ‘Phase 1’ plan. At the same time as Khun Kantadhee was reaching for the podium steps, back at its base the team was busy working on a new car. This year the youngster will have a new ‘weapon’ as Team Eakie is building up a Toyota 86 and that long development programme is now reaching a conclusion.
This new 86 was first seen in public as a static exhibit during the Bangsaen Thailand Speed Festival last December. It was displayed at the ‘Landmark Pavilion’ as little more than a rolling chassis clothed with body panels and aero parts.
Now the car is approaching the closing stages of the build programme and ahead of its competitive racing debut in Buriram next month the car has made its second ‘showcase’ appearance, this time in the booth of ‘Grand Prix Channel’ at the 36th Bangkok International Motor Show over the last two weeks. “The car is 80% done,” confirmed Team Owner Khun Anothai Eamlumnow at the show. “We hope to shakedown at Bira [Circuit] at the end of this month and on the Tuesday before Buriram.”
Visually the car has a striking new aero package based around the Toyota 86-specific ‘Rocket Bunny’ kit that the team has shipped in from Japan. The upgrade sees a sweeping new front spoiler section and splitter incorporated, bigger bulging wheel arches that taper off behind the front wheels ‘Super GT’ style and a rear diffuser.
Team Eakie’s engineers have further optimised the kit for Super 2000 use this year. “We [have] made it a wider and modified it a bit,” adds Khun Anothai. Topping off the car’s visuals is a huge racing rear wing. Novelties include LED daytime running lights individually recessed into the from spoiler section.
A week last Tuesday the champions of the second season of Thailand Super Series were honoured during a glamorous celebration evening, which took place at the Royal Bangkok Sports Club in the city’s Pathum Wan district.
The Royal Bangkok Sports Club is one of the most prestigious and exclusive sports venues in Thailand. Founded way back in 1901 the many sports it hosted in its vast confines include horse racing, athletics, golf, squash, polo, swimming, basketball and hockey.
During the ‘Champions Day 2014’ though a taste of top-level motorsport also came to the iconic venue as the most successful drivers and teams competing in Thai motorsport came to the Sports Club to receive their trophies. Meanwhile, outside the prize giving hall a Super Car Class 2-GTM Ferrari 458 Challenge from Singha Motorsport Team Thailand was also on show.
“People seemed to enjoy themselves and there was a good turn up,” noted TSS Vice President Preeda Tantemsapya. “The Sports Club is a good place to host the Champions Day as the place provides you with a lot of history of sport in Thailand and has so much prestige. We look forward to coming back here in for the next Champions Day.”
TSS President Sontaya Kunplome introduced the evening and leading out the championship winning trophy recipients was Khun Chonsawat Asavahame (Super Car Class 1-GT3) and Khun Voravud Bhirombhakdi (Super Car Class 2-GTM) while Japanese driver Khun Akihiro Asai (Super Car Class 3-GTC) had the award collected on his behalf.
Other champions visiting the ‘winners podium’ at the Sports Club included Khun Tin Sritrai (Super 2000), who sealed his second back-to-back title, while Khun Pasarit Phromsombat (Super Production) claimed a double title for Overall and Class B. Getting very used to the trip up to the stage was Khun Thanapol Thongchua who collected the trophy for the Super Pickup Overall title for the third straight year.
During the ‘Champions Day 2014’ a special new trophy was introduced to honour a ‘Rising Star’ from each category, a driver that stood out over the last season for his or her burning ambition, relentless commitment and total dedication – as well as being an excellent example to others both on and off the track.
Khun Umar A. Rahman, who stepped up to Super Car Class 1-GT3 in a Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 this year, bagged the award for the top class while former drift star Khun Sarun Sereethoranakul was the pick in Super Car Class 2-GTM. Nissan Skyline driver Khun Narin Yensuk took the prize for the inaugural season of Super Car Class 3-GTC.
The ‘Rising Star’ trophy winners continued with Hong Kong driver Khun Rudolf Yu, who turned in some superb fighting drives last year in Super 2000 Class C, Khun Nipon Khtsee, who clearly marked himself down as one to look out for in the future thanks to his pace in Super Pickup Class C, while in the highly competitive Super 1500 Class C, Khun Sorasak Saeng-xuto certainly stood out last year.
Finally, in Super Production Class C Khun Raris Yoodvidhya proved very fast on his rookie year in the category, he should make rapid progress with his driving career, while in Super Eco no one was a more worthy recipient than Khun Kmik Karnasuta. The youngster’s still a long way away from getting a driving licence for the streets but after receiving a special dispensation from the RAAT he impressed on the track and is certainly going to be a big star in the future.