It’s been talked about for months and months but finally Thailand Super Series 2015 is about to kick off – and all that talking is about to stop. The much-anticipated ‘Season 3’ has arrived. It’s going to be bigger, better, brighter, more competitive and even more glamorous than ever before as the ‘New Era’ of Thai motorsport continues to accelerate to new heights.
Today, the untimed track sessions will commence, tomorrow sees official free practice getting underway while Friday will be reserved for qualifying. Then non stop race action will pack out Saturday and Sunday.
The competitive bar has gone up again, drivers have improved and ungraded their machines, new Thai and international drivers are joining the series, there are new cars and the teams have improved their infrastructure as the standards climb in every area. For the fans it’s going to a year to remember with guaranteed close and dramatic action awaiting.
It’s hot in Buriram, in the mid-30 degrees – and so far this week – it’s been dry but there was a short but gusty windstorm yesterday teatime and predicting the weather is impossible, certainly rain and thunder are forecasted. That all means picking the winners this weekend in Buriram isn’t an easy task; there are so many unknowns. Rather it’s going to be a case of studying the timing screens to see emerging form and then watching how it unfolds in the races, but with four consecutive races in Buriram (two more come in July), this weekend’s winners however could give a very useful pointer as to the destiny of this year’s titles.
Preview: Super Car Class 1-GT3
There is only one place to start – and that’s with Khun Chonsawat Asavahame. He won the championship in some style last year, starting the season by bagging the useful podium points on offer in Sepang, before banging in wins and maximum scores throughout the middle of the season and finally nailing down the remaining points he needed for the title in Bangsaen.
Vattana Motorsport thought big last year and Khun Chonsawat even swapped to a new racecar in time for the Bira Circuit round. But this team doesn’t stay still and the team owner will have a new mount to defend the title as Reiter Engineering’s brand-new Gallardo GT3 FL2 Extenso R-EX has just arrived.
That’s an even more extreme version of the outgoing model with a wider rear track, muscular three quarter panels, a more powerful engine, a lower downforce rear wing and a more aggressive looks thanks to new front and rear lights. It’s clearly going to set a new benchmark in Class 1-GT3 and demonstrates that Khun Chonsawat is very serious about retaining his title.
Vattana Motorsport set a new record for Teams’ championship points last year as they romped away to the title and they start in a position of strength this time around as they aim to keep a firm grip on both titles. That starts with Khun Tomáš Enge who will be back behind the wheel of the team’s brutal Chevrolet Camaro GT3.
The Czech superstar has arrived in Buriram off the back of a sensational double victory in the season closing event in Bangsaen last December but the former Formula 1 driver’s first objective will be to support Vattana’s quest for Teams’ points.
Returning for a second year in Class 1-GT3 will be Khun Umar A. Rahman. He’s also upgrading his machine and is set to take over the Gallardo GT3 FL2 that Khun Chonsawat used for his successful run into the title last year. Just three rounds and six races old, which includes outright wins, this car will be the perfect machine for Khun Umar to continue to propel his career path forward.
Giving Lamborghini a dominant edge in Class 1-GT3 will be Khun Indharasak Techaterasiri. This experienced driver, who in fact introduced the ‘Raging Bull’ brand to Super Car three years ago, will drive his Gallardo GT3 this weekend.
After a spell on the sidelines in the middle part of last year, Khun Indharasak shook off the rust with a strong run in the second race in Bangsaen and will now be itching to get back in amongst the action at the front.
Preview: Super Car Class 2-GTM
Where to start? The biggest most competitive high level Thai racing category in living memory throws up so many drivers and racecars that could win – so the best place to start is with the defending champion, Khun Voravud Bhirombhakdi.
The Singha Motorsport Team Thailand lead driver made an inch perfect run to the title last year, starting out with a double win in Sepang and then keeping his advantage intact all year. He will have a brand new racecar this year, the latest version of the Ferrari 458 Challenge, dubbed the ‘Evo’, which he impressively debuted in the Ferrari Challenge Asia Pacific series earlier this year.
And there is more as Khun Voravud’s team has drafted in rapid youngster Khun Kantasak Kusiri to drive a second 458 Challenge. This ‘star of the future’ debuted in Super Car last year in a Porsche 997 so he’s now used to the power and the characteristics of the racecars at this level; he needs to start delivering this year if his reputation is to keep growing.
That all adds up to a very strong line up for Singha Motorsport Team Thailand that can challenge for both the Drivers’ and Teams’ title. The cars will also benefit from a change of tyre brand to Yokohama and that should help them over the full race distance. Clearly Khun Voravud is confident that his team can mount a serious challenge for both crowns. Time will tell if he’s correct, but this team certainly comes very well prepared, all the boxes are always methodically ticked off and they’re fresh from a two-day test session in Buriram a few weeks ago.
The list of pretenders to the crown clearly has to start with Toyota Team Thailand. The hugely successful factory-backed outfit won the 2013 Class 2-GTM Drivers’ title thanks to the sterling efforts of Khun Nattavude Charoensukhawatana and he was runner up last year, losing the top spot by just a whisker. Both team and driver want their crowns back.
To support that push for silverware Toyota will be running three of its 86s in Class 2-GTM for the first time as former Super 2000 champion Khun Manat Kulapalanont will step up to drive a brand new built car, joining Khun Nattavude and Khun Nattapong Horthongkum for a potent triple challenge that should position the Japanese brand very strongly in the chase for Teams’ honors.
The category pacesetter in Buriram last year was B-Quik Racing’s team leader Khun Henk J. Kiks. The Dutchman’s driving was electrifying; he comfortably posted the fastest race laps and looked on course for the top step of the podium until issues reared their heads. If he can find that pace again and the Audi R8 LMS Cup remains reliable then Khun Henk will certainly be locked into the action at the front.
Porsche will be the numerically strongest marque on the grid, with eight cars, but there are big question marks over whether the ‘997’ (which accounts for no less than six of them) still has the sheer pace that will be required to win this year.
The sextet of 997s starts with Khun Aekarat Discharoen who bagged a win here in Buriram last year and finished third in the Drivers’ championship while leading Singha A Motorsport Porsche AAS Kiwi Racing to the Teams’ title. He’s quick, experienced and consistent. Another driver that fits that tag is Khun Suttiluck Buncharoen, he’s swapping his Class 1-GT3 Lamborghini for the 997 that Khun Kantasak drove last year.
Khun Sarun Sereethoranakul switched from ‘drift’ to circuit racing and once he had ironed out his tendency to apply the techniques of his former discipline he looked blisteringly quick and became a podium regular. A fast and dedicated learner, Khun Sarun drafted in Japanese ‘pro’ star Khun Keita Sawa to help him and that paid off.
By the end of the season Khun Sarun had become a front-runner and it remains to be seen now how if can continue to develop as a ‘circuit racer’ even further this year. He’s taking it very seriously too, heading to Japan a few weeks ago to improve his ‘GT’ skills while the transmission has been rebuilt and there are a few other tweaks. He will run on Hoosier tyres again this year, as will Khun Aekarat, the latter swapping to this brand for the first time week.
Khun Daniel Bilski is joining B-Quik Racing this year to drive the team’s venerable 997 and another question mark is over where he can fit in. The car won both races at Bangsaen last December in the hands of Khun Darryl O’Young so it comes into the season as the form machine, albeit the streets of the fishing port provide an utterly different challenge to Buriram. The Australian has vast sportscar racing experience as well as knowing the Porsche inside out but he has to learn the Thai tracks as they all will be new to him. Khun Daniel is driving in the Audi R8 Cup Asia as well as Asia Classic Car Challenge this year, also for B-Quik Racing, so there won’t be early season rustiness to shed or a new team to get to know – expect him to be gunning to shake up the order.
Khun Paul Kanjanapas will be behind the wheel of Painkiller Racing’s Porsche 997 GT3 Cup and is looking at a full season after off track commitments meant his participation has been patchy over the last couple of years. This will be his third season in the ‘Cup’ car so he knows it well, he’s switching support teams this year, building a new unit around him, so they will certainly need to bed in, but Khun Paul has been making progress and will be looking to capitalise on that this year and push up the running order.
The final ‘997’ will be the ‘Team NZ’ entry of Khun John Curran and Khun Graeme Dowsett. This pair, who were part of the winning team in the GTC class at the MMER Sepang 12 Hours last year, are using Super Car to gain cockpit time and as such have special dispensation to rotate drivers from Saturday to Sunday. It means they will start from the back of the grid and run outside the points. It remains to be seen how far the duo can individually crack the leaderboard.
Finally, the Stuttgart marque has two more representatives, and many eyes will be cast in the direction of the newer of the two machines. That’s not just because it’s a dazzling metallic gold colour, but because it’s a new-generation ‘991’. Raced by Porsche factory driver Khun Martin Ragginger in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia last year it’s the first of the new 991 breed to arrive in TSS and it’s sure to gain a heck of a lot of attention. Behind the wheel will be Khun Pitsanu Sirimongkolkasem who is graduating from Super 2000 along with his team. The driver is undeniably fast and the team has always delivered him a front running car so it remains to be seen how quickly they all adapt and unlock the full potential of this impressive racecar.
Then there is a 996. Vattana Motorsport’s Khun Jack Lemvard will be back behind the wheel of the car he’s been racing for a few years now and combined with his natural speed he can’t be counted out, even if the car is ageing. He will miss out on some tracktime as the car’s overhauled transmission has been late arriving here, it arrived last night and will be fitted this morning, but he knows this car inside out. So expect Khun Jack to be relishing the challenge of Class 2-GTM and to pull out two very fast drives this weekend if the car is up to the task – exactly just how far he can get up the leaderboard is another question to be answered. But it would be a big surprise to see him finish off the podium.
Khun Craig Corliss has been a fixture in the Super Car mix with his ‘Australian V8’ machines for a good few years now and he will be back in the Holden Commodore VE that he’s raced for the last two seasons. The lurid orange car has become lurid green, but that’s just the start of the changes; at the end of last season he shipped the car back to its original builder, Triple Eight Engineering in Australia, to be fully rebuilt and upgraded and it should be as good as new and ready to get him into the thick of the action again this year.
Finally the Lamborghini name, more synonymous with Class 1-GT3, will return to Class 2-GTM. That’s because the Gallardo Super Trofeo that Khun Umar A. Rahman raced in Bangsaen at the end of the 2013 season is now in the hands of Khun Bhisanu Bhusitarnuntakul. The Reiter Engineering-built car was in fact tested last year by Vattana Motorsport’s Khun Narasak Ittritpong last year but in the end it never raced so the Super Trofeo will make a welcome return to the Class 2-GTM ranks. Khun Bhisanu has already tested the car here last month and he also has experience of both the top Super Car classes to call upon in his chase to get onto the pace.
Preview: Super Car Class 3-GTC
There will be some real quality on show in Class 3-GTC and picking a winner here is also no easy task. Khun Akihiro Asai returns to defend his title in the Vattana Unity Motorsport Ferrari 360 Challenge and he has to start as the favourite if the car doesn’t cost him points. The Japanese driver is a proven quantity in TSS, he picked up his second Super Car title last year (after first winning Super Car N/A in 2011) and is fast, smooth – and most importantly – able to nurse a car to the checkered flag. He’s going to be hard to beat but there are some top names in top cars that want to wrest the crown out of his hands.
Last year was the inaugural season of the new Super Car ‘entry level’ class and championship runner up Khun Grant Supaphong will be back in the Krating Daeng Racing Team by N Sport Mitsubishi Evo X aiming to go one better. His teammate, Khun Daychapon Toyingcharoen, who was second runner up last year, will also be back in his Nissan Skyline R32 and the pair should be consistently on the podium.
Two of the most experienced drivers in Thai motorsport, TSS President Sontaya Kunplome and Toyota Team Manager Khun Suttipong Smittachartch will be back in action – and ready to do battle with each other again. The former will drive his usual Porsche 997 GT3 Cup while the latter will be behind the wheel of the Toyota 86 his team developed for Class 3-GTC midway through last year. Expect to see both drivers chasing the podium spots.
The Ginetta will also be present. Quick if a little fragile, the small British sportscar will be driven again by Painkiller Racing’s Khun Naputt Assakul who has plenty of speed to bring to the equation. The car arrived in the paddock last night sporting a new black and gold colour scheme. Also returning for a second year in Class 3-GTC will be Khun Narin Yensuk in the KS Racing Skyline R32. He bagged a few podiums last year and will be looking to build on that, albeit with a car that is heavier than most of its rivals.
It’s also a case of saving the one of the best until last as Vattana Motorsport’s Khun Narasak Ittritpong will be joining Class 3-GTC with the team’s striking Mitsubishi Evo IX and that’s going to be a heck of a potent combination. Khun Narasak already has a sensational debut Class 2-GTM win in the car from a couple of years ago but now the machine has been rerated for Class 3-GTC.
Khun Pete Thongchua switches to Class 3-GTC with the popular RZ Racing Mazda RX-8 and the rotary engine racecar should be more at home here than Class 2-GTM where he campaigned it last year. Also look out for the Subaru BRZ that’s being developed by renowned marque specialists, A Motorsport. The car is still a work in progress and the driver, Khun Kraingkrai Woraratanatham, has to get up to speed in the car, but they will all be looking to make progress this weekend as they eye up a further step on the return visit here in July.
Preview: Super 2000
This category traditionally provides bumper to bumper racing from skilled and committed drivers and always throws up a few surprises, this year it has added prestige as the ‘Thailand Touring Car’ championship title returns to Super 2000.
Vattana Motorsport’s Khun Jack Lemvard has to start on paper as the man that everyone must benchmark against. But it’s not going to be clear-cut at all. He will race the BMW E90 he debuted at Bira Circuit last year with a victory, but for this season he will have a weight disadvantage and that’s going to be amplified on Sunday if he gets extra weight from Saturday’s opening race. He reported that the German car wasn’t where he wanted it to be after his first runs in the car here earlier this week, but even so this is a skilled driver who can get the most out of almost any racing machine.
Highly rated youngster Khun Kantadhee Kusiri is likely to be a dark horse this season – even if it’s unlikely he will have the chance to shine over the next four days. He will drive Team Eakie’s brand new Toyota 86 but the car will be straight out of the box, the team was still at its base still putting it together yesterday, and it will need further time to get up to speed before he can challenge for P1. The car is due to arrive here today but it remains to be seen if the whole package can progress very quickly over the next few days.
The Sittipol Lipo K45 team has a strong line up. Khun Munkong Sathienthirakul looked quick last year and was always in the battle for the podium positions. Expect him to push hard for the victory. Team leader Khun Ekprawat Petcharak is also experienced and has pace. He will drive the first Civic ‘FB’ to arrive in TSS and should be a contender for the podium in a car that he reports is now fully sorted.
The two red and white factory Toyota Altis machines now have a season of development behind them and should be more competitive propositions this year. Khun Chen Jian Hong will be pushing hard while also expect to see his new teammate, Khun Pure Hongsapan, who earns the second Altis seat in Super 2000 as a prize for winning last year’s Toyota One Make race, looking to make an impact.
The Speedbuster Ducati Chiang Mai team will field Khun Jakthong Navasoopanich and Khun Paritat Bulbon as usual and both are experienced, quick and usually bring their cars home intact. The latter driver will be looking to make his turbodiesel VW Golf work better around the high-speed layout of Buriram, its had some under the bonnet upgrades since Bangsaen and should be closer to the pace.
There are a lot of fast names to keep an eye on behind the wheel of the Honda’s ubiquitous Civic FD. Khun Kittipol Pramoj Na Ayudhya was blisteringly quick last year in Class B so expect him to make another step forward, although business commitments means he won’t climb into his #25 car until Friday morning. His racing ‘twin’, Khun Thamrong Mahadumrongkul, had a lot of bad luck last year that masked his obvious pace – he will be hoping to put that right this year.
The sister car of Khun Naiyanobh Bhirombhakdi will also be an unknown as this driver is returning to the cockpit and joining TSS for the first time. Another couple of ‘FD’ runners that always show a turn of pace are Khun Arthit Ruengsomboom and Khun Wijak Lertprasertpakorn, both will be pushing up the top-ten.
The Civic’s coupé cousin, the DC5, also has some useful drivers to watch out for. Khun Chayut Yangpichit is fast and experienced, the TT Motorsport owner will be looking to build on the excellent Super 2000 performance he turned in here late last year.
Meanwhile Super Production champion Khun Pasarit Phromsombat graduates at the wheel of the RMI Racing Team’s DC5 and it will be interesting to see how he fits in. He has recent experience of Super 2000 too, having previously raced a Nissan Silvia in the touring car category, albeit briefly.
Preview: Support Races
There is going to be a heck of a fight in the truck category as Buriram gets ready to play host the most competitive entry list to be seen in Super Pickup in the last couple of years and, as well as the overall title fight, all three of the classes look set to be in for very close individual battles.
Last year Khun Waris Onyarab was the driver who harried the eventual champion, Khun Thanapol, on track the most, so he has to start as one of the favourites for victory as the latter isn’t racing in Super Pickup here. Also look out for Khun Jaras Jaengkamolkulchai who has been absent from Super Pickup in recent years and this highly experienced driver will clearly fancy his chances of the title. His teammate Khun Akasit Kriengkomol is also quick and the pairing should make a good run at the Teams’ title also.
In Super 1500 the pace of Khun Kajornsak Na Songkhla will be the focus of attention as he switches to Super 1500 after a long and rewarding run in Super Production. Other names to look out for include Khun Komkrit Lertlumprasertkul and Khun Nuttapong Lertlumprasertkul, both are fast and experienced and know exactly how to win races. Class C also looks like it’s going to be especially frenetic.
In Super Production there is also going to be a sweeping change at the top, the first three in the championship last year are all out of the picture this weekend as Khun Pasarit has moved up to Super 2000 and Khun Kajornsak is going across to Super 1500 while Khun Michael Freeman begins developing the new-generation Mazda2 which will run outside the points all season.
Khun Thomas Raldorf is back in Super Production and in upbeat mode after showing impressive testing pace this year; he will fancy his chances of winning this weekend as he has good form here. Also capable of wining is Khun Settasit Boonyakiat in the OMP Vattana Motorsport Honda Jazz; he won a Super Production race last year and will want to build on that success.
Super Production Class B and C both have double figure entries in Buriram with many drivers capable of winning, so expect battles for the titles that kick off this weekend and then run all the way to the season closer in Bangsaen.
Finally, in Super Eco a full grid is in store and there will be a string of ‘Class C’ level drivers that are looking to make an impact. Last year Khun Poomee Phromatham took a firm grip of the category from the start and ran away with the title. That’s very unlikely to be the scenario again this year and there are many promising novice drivers who will have their eye on the title.
Certainly look out for the performance of the youngest driver in TSS, Khun Kmik Karnasuta. The 15-year-old hugely impressed last year and was a podium regular. With a full season’s worth of Super Eco racing behind him, it will be interesting to see just how far further forward this son of a former national champion can take his obvious ambitions this year. And that’s the whole idea of introducing the Super Eco format – the champions of the future will be nurtured here.