It’s finally here. The most anticipated annual motorsport event in Thailand will kick off this morning at 0900 when the lights at the end of the pitlane flicker from red to green and waiting cars growl out onto the track for the first free practice session of what’s set to be an intensive opening day.
In fact for the for the first time the Bangsaen Thailand Speed Festival is gong live on the Tuesday thus making it a non stop six day event. But that’s just one of many changes that are in store this year and probably the biggest is the arrival of FIA Grade 3 homologation that will set the event well on its way to a new international era.
But it’s the drivers and racecars that will battle it out for supremacy on track and it looks to be very evenly matched across the classes with titles and well as the individual of glory winning in Bangsaen being at stake.
In Super Car the three classes will be in action with Class 1-GT3 joining Class 3-GTC on the grid. In the top class Khun Tomáš Enge will be back to try to repeat his double win of last year while a further highlight will be the appearance of hotshots Khun Jack Lemvard and Khun Narasak Ittritpong in a pair of Lamborghini Gallardo Extenso R-EX machines.
In Class 2-GTC there’s a mouthwatering title showdown in store between Khun Craig Corliss (Holden) and Khun Kantasak Kusiri (Ferrari) while Hong Kong driver Khun Darryl O’Young is returning in a Porsche to try to recreate his sensation double debut victory of last year.
That really lays out the story across the programme with all the classes set for close and exciting racing. Super 2000, Super Pickup, Super 1500, Super Production and Super Eco are all getting ready to dazzle over the coming days as well as guest series on the programme, the Renault Clio Cup and Touring Car Series in Asia, as well as the action packed 6 Hour Endurance Race.
Preview: Super Car Class 1-GT3
In the top class Khun Tomáš Enge will be back to defend his sensational double win of last year. Wrestling the big Camaro GT3 round the tight and twisty streets he delivered a master class in racecraft and he’s looks all set to do it again this year.
The Czech driver is now synonymous in Thailand with the brutal American sportscar and he will clamber in the striking black machine once again with the full intention of doubling his two wins from last year to four by the time the engines fall silent late on Sunday afternoon.
“It’s always great to come back to TSS,” said Khun Tomáš. “Bangsaen is a challenging track, it has a nice atmosphere and is a nice place as the location sits on the coast and really looking forward to the event and looking forward to driving the Camaro again on this tight track and thanks to Reiter Vattana Motorsport for letting me come and defend my wins.”
If anyone is going to stop him it’s going to have to be one of his teammates in the Vattana garage and there will be a new name in Class 1-GT3, Khun Narasak Ittritpong who will substitute in the #28 Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 R-EX ‘Extenso’.
Khun Narasak has his first taste of GT3 power during the recent GT Asia Series round in Buriram so this car certainly isn’t a new proposition for him but he has to further get up to speed in the ‘Extenso’, extract more of its capability and tame it around the streets of Bangsaen.
It’s a tall order but Khun Narasak will certainly be relishing making his mark in Class 1-GT3. There is expected to be a second ‘Extenso’ on the grid as Khun Jack Lemvard is also slated to drive the Gallardo’s latest more powerful ‘widebody’ version as Reiter Vattana Motorsport has retro fitted the latest upgrade to a second example of the Italian sportscar and he will be in the race action this weekend subject to a successful shakedown test today.
It’s also pleasing to see that there will actually be three Lamborghinis on the grid as Khun Umar A. Rahman will be back in his regular Gallardo GT3 FL2 and after running the car here last year he should now be much more familiar with its capabilities on the streets of Bangsaen, although his version will have much less power. Khun Umar is fresh from a season racing single seaters around Asia so will be raring to back into the cockpit of his ‘Raging Bull’.
With the hectic programme on track at Bangsaen the Class 1-GT3 cars will combine with the Class 3-GTC runners for their two races and that’s going to add an extra variable into the mix as drivers from both categories will need to quickly adjust to the different performance capabilities – and certainly the fans in the grandstands are going to be the winners.
Preview: Super Car Class 2-GTM
At least on paper, its promising to be one of the most enthralling weekends in Super Car history as there are likely to be two showdowns, both at the front, one for the pride of taking home a Bangsaen winners’ trophy, one of the most coveted prizes in Thai motorsport, and the other for the destiny of the overall championship title, which is still wide open with two drivers running neck to neck.
Into that explosive cocktail comes a brand new variable as for the first time ever there will be a ‘triple header’ format in Super Car with Class 2-GTM races scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday – and that’s going to provide an extra challenge that all the drivers and teams will have to respond to.
For a second straight year the destiny of the championship is on a knife-edge. Last year Khun Voravud Bhirombhakdi (Ferrari) and Khun Nattavude Charoensukhawatana (Toyota) arrived in the resort separated by just a single point. This year the actors names have changed and Khun Voravud’s teammate Khun Kantasak Kusiri is just two points adrift of the big green Holden Commodore of Khun Craig Corliss. Once again it’s going down to the wire in a graphic demonstration that the regulations in Super Car really are working to equalise the action.
Last year Khun Voravud, having seen his points lead whittled down all year to that solitary point, seized the initiative and as soon as he got on track looked like a champion elect, two podium places allowed him to coast to the title. His team, Singha Motorsport Team Thailand, will be hoping that history will repeat itself and Khun Kantasak can also take control of his destiny, wipe out that marginal deficit and wrap up a second consecutive Drivers’ championship title for the team.
But Khun Craig has other ideas. The biggest driver in the paddock, as well as one of the most experienced, will be at the wheel of his mighty ‘Australian V8 Supercar’ Holden and he really wants this title. He’s never been as fired up as he is this year. Now into his third season in the car the New Zealander had it shipped back to its original builder Triple Eight Engineering over the closed season and that decision has paid off spectacularly as he arrives in Bangsaen off the back of five straight top-three finishes, including a win, and that’s real championship winning form.
One of the smaller teams in the paddock certainly, the Kiwi Racing Team knows how to hustle and Khun Craig knows exactly how to extract the max from his package. The grunt of the ‘V8’ will play into his hands on Bangsaen’s massive power-sapping straight but the Holden will be an awkward proposition through some of the turns and will certainly struggle through the tight hairpin at the end of the mountain section.
The title battle is simply far to close and evenly matched to call and with a maximum of 60-points on offer it could very easily go either way. The next problem Khun Craig and Khun Kantasak will have is that they are unlikely to be fighting it out in clear air at the front and will be in the pack where it’s much easier to become caught up in someone else’s accident while they may also find their points scores compromised.
Looking at the entry list the battle for P1 should be a showdown between the #44 Lamborghini of Khun Jack Lemvard and the #27 Porsche of Khun Darryl O’Young. The latter came to Bangsaen last year and immediately proved his world-class status as he performed a clean sweep, storming to two pole positions and two wins.
When he had arrived in Bangsaen last December there were question marks as to whether he could squeeze enough life out of B-Quik Racing’s ageing ‘997’ – they were questions he answered emphatically as soon as he hit the track for the first practice session. This year he’s back and those questions marks come up again, but after he made it look easy last year few would wager against him doing the business again this year. And Khun Darryl arrives in tiptop form as he’s recently sealed the GT Asia Series title while he’s brushed up on his street racing skills as just two days ago he raced an Aston Martin GT3 to a top ten finish the FIA GT World Cup in Macau.
“It is a real pleasure to return to the Bangsaen Grand Prix with B-Quick Racing,” said Khun Darryl. “We had a strong weekend last year with the team, and we’ll be aiming to achieve the same success this time around. The team have worked hard all year to improve our car, so I expect it to be faster as we have learned from our weaknesses from last year’s race. I expect the competition to be stronger this year so we will have to work harder and look at all the details to ensure we can have a chance to win again.”
Based on last year’s performance Khun Darryl has to start as the favourite. But the competitive bar in Class 2-GTM has rocketed up since last year and most likely he’s going to face his toughest opposition this week from Khun Jack Lemvard. Arguably the most talented Thai driver racing domestically in the last decade he has oodles of talent combined with a blistering natural speed. His biggest drawbacks so far, maturity and mental strength, seem to have been ticked off since he returned to the cockpit after his hiatus from TSS. This year Khun Jack has demonstrated that he’s getting very close to the polished all round package, however in Khun Darryl he faces a formidable world class opponent.
This is really much more than an opportunity to win a prestigious Bangsaen trophy, for Khun Jack he needs to put himself in the shop window, to prove that he can hack it internationally, he wants – and needs – to beat Khun Darryl, the stakes couldn’t be higher. And the pressure mounts further as he also has a Super 2000 title to win in Bangsaen.
That’s four drivers covered. But there will be a heck of a lot of drivers looking to make sure that this quartet doesn’t have the highest podium steps covered.
A very good place to start is with Khun Jack’s teammate Khun Akihiro Asai who also has a Gallardo LP520 at his disposal. The Japanese driver is a former double Super Car Champion (Super Car N/A in 2011 and Super Car Class 3-GTC in 2014) and since he’s got his hands on the Lamborghini he’s looked fast and threatening, riding shotgun to his teammate at Buriram and Bira. He will want to end the season on a high note and always goes well at Bangsaen; in fact he sneaked into seal that important 2011 title on these streets.
From a single example of the new-generation Porsche 991 GT3 Cup all season there will now be three of them in Bangsaen. Khun Pitsanu Sirimongkolkasem has been driving his example all year long and edging step-by-step closer to the front. He will be looking to sign off the year on a high note. Also driving 991s for the first time will be Khun Aekarat Discharoen and Khun Suttiluck Buncharoen. The latter has acquired the 991 driven in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia this season by Khun Sontaya Kunplome while the latter is bringing the example he also ran in the series. As these two cars have only just arrived in Thailand they will both essentially be in ‘Cup’ specification and not optimized for the Class 2-GTM regulations, but both drivers are quick and could shake up the order.
Toyota will be looking to sign off the year in style and the factory team will as usual have three cars on the grid for Khun Nattavude Charoensukhawatana, Khun Nattapong Horthongkum and Khun Manat Kulapalanont. Khun Nattavude, the outgoing Class 2-GTM Vice Champion, is one of the canniest drivers in the paddock and can never be written off. He was in action in Macau last weekend – that was his fifteenth consecutive year at the Macau Grand Prix weekend – and as usual he impressed, this time in a very underpowered car up against many much more high-powered machines, so he’s a street expert who is ‘street ready’.
There are a couple more Ferraris to keep an eye on. Outgoing champion Khun Voravud Bhirombhakdi hasn’t had the best of title defences but last year in Bangsaen he stamped his mark with two runners up spots behind Khun Darryl as he sealed the title in style so he will be looking to sign off with a couple of trips to the podium. Also ‘Prancing Horse’ mounted will be Khun Bhurit Bhirombhakdi, he’s in his Class 2-GTM rookie year and has shown increased speed race by race culminating in a third place at the last round and he will be looking end the season with another trip to the podium.
While several Porsche drivers have upgraded to the 991, Khun Sarun Sereethoranakul will be in his familiar 997 GT3 Cup and he’s shown a lot of speed since he switched from drifting to circuit racing at the start of last year. He’s certainly going to be targeting the podium and it will be his second year in the German car at Bangsaen so he should be much more settled.
Khun Darryl’s teammate at B-Quik Racing, Khun Henk J. Kiks, has had a bit of a mixed year so far and he will want to end the season with a good result in the team’s #26 Audi R8 LMS Cup. He does have to keep the car well away from the walls though, as immediately after Bangsaen the Audi will be shipped to Malaysia to contest next month’s Sepang 12 Hours.
Also into the mix will come Khun Traitanit Chimtawan in the NSports-Yokohama developed Nissan GTR which will make its seasonal debut after major upgrade work that has focused around converting the car to 2WD. Clearly this car will be very fast and can impact on the battle for the podium, the question will be if it’s going to be around at the finish.
Finally, after a soft debut in his new Ferrari 458 Challenge at the last round, Khun Thamrong Mahadumrongkul’s new #24 car has arrived in the paddock already and will be at his disposal this weekend. Business commitments will keep him away from the track until raceday so it could well be another toe dipping weekend as he continues to get up to speed with his new car.
While the Drivers’ championship is wide open the Teams’ title is effectively in the grasp of Singha Motorsport Team Thailand as they defend a 48 point advantage. But for the runners up spot there is just one point between NSports-Yokohama-Kiwi Racing (74 points) and Vattana Unity Motorsport (73 points) while with Toyota (66 points) hovering just behind them there going to be a three-way fight for the runners up title.
Preview: Super Car Class 3-GTC
Khun Grant Supaphong should be able to cruise to the title in Bangsaen. He has a 19-point cushion over his teammate Khun Daychapon Toyingcharoen with a maximum of 40-points on offer from the weekend. That means he needs just one more win to be sure. He comes into the event with thee straight wins and in fact four wins from six races this year. It looks like his biggest issue, the reliability of the Mitsubishi Evo X has been cured and he’s the clear favourite to claim the second Class 3-GTC championship title succeeding Khun Akihiro Asai who has moved up to Class 2-GTM this year.
Any slip up and the title could go to Khun Daychapon, but more realistically the runners up spot is a straight fight between the Nissan Skyline R32 driver and Khun Pete Thongchua’s Mazda RX-8 – there’s just 3 points between them with all to play for. Hovering seven points back from Khun Pete is Khun Sontaya Kunplome and eight back is Khun Naputt Assakul so nether are out of the fight for the runners up spot, 11 points cover second to fifth so it’s going to be pretty hectic around the streets of Bangsaen this weekend.
Aside from Khun Grant, Khun Naputt is the only other driver to have registered a win this year in Class 3-GTC, he has two victories but a lot of bad luck has cost him points. The Ginetta driver is certainly going to want to mix it up in Bangsaen and pull out a good result but the little car’s lack of grunt could prove costly on the long main straight and he’s likely to struggle to fend off some of the other cars on that section of the 3.7-km track.
Look out for the new Rotary Revolution developed Mazda RX-7 driven by Khun Narin Yensuk. He debuted the car in TSS at the last round but wasn’t fully up to fitness so it’s potential wasn’t unlocked. Car and driver should be much more up to speed this weekend and should be challenging for the podium.
Also looking to be in the thick of the front running action will be Khun Chayut Yangpichit in the TT Motorsport Mitsubishi Evo. He missed the last round at Bira but he’s quick and the car is quick so a trip to podium is a certainty if he reaches the finishline.
In the Teams’ championship the title has long since been put to bed by Krating Daeng Racing Team by NSports but the runners up spot is still wide open and will be a showdown between PTT Performa-RZ-Yokohama Racing (68 points), Racing Spirit PSC Motorsport (61 points) and Painkiller Racing (60 points).
Preview: Super 2000
Seemingly the combination of Khun Jack Lemvard and Vattana Motorsport’s potent BMW E90 was well on the way to the title after the first four races of the year in Buriram. However at the last round Khun Jack picked up only 10-points all weekend, a fourth place in the first race being followed by a DNF as he suffered a wheel bearing failure. His closest rival going into that weekend, Khun Munkong Sathienthirakul, was unable to capitalise on his rival’s misfortune though and suffered a zero overall points score and that meant Khun Pasarit Phromsombat was the big winner as a second and third place allowed him to chop 17-points out of the Vattana driver’s cushion at the top, which now stands at 80-points, and that means the gap is down to just 10-points with one round just the two races in Bangsaen this coming weekend remaining.
With a maximum score of 40-points being on offer from Saturday and Sunday’s races Khun Pasarit has reopened the title race. However Khun Jack will finally get rid of some of the ‘success’ weight he’s built up and that’s going to give him an early advantage while Khun Pasarit, who has very consistently scored points in every race this year, will have more to weight to carry thanks to his results in Bira.
The title fight is effectively between those two drivers but there was a new name in the frame at Bira Circuit as Khun Kantadhee Kusiri finally had the car to unlock his natural speed and he won both races to jump up the unofficial classification into third place; he has 56-points and so is mathematically still in the title race.
While winning the title highly unlikely he’s going have an eye on the runners up spot – but will be fixated on nothing less than victory and that means he could also take points away from Khun Jack and Khun Pasarit. The 22-year-old struggled over the first half of the year with a brand new car that wasn’t fully developed, but once the team gave him a machine at the Bira round that was capable of fighting to win then he needed no second invitation and he simply stormed his way to victory. Whether the characteristics of Bangsaen show up some of the car’s power limitations that were better masked at Bira, plus he now has extra weight to lug around,remains to be seen but he will certainly be pushing hard.
Khun Munkong is now fourth in the standings and although he is also still technically in the title race it’s a very remote possibility. However, like Khun Kantadhee, he could upset the destiny of the title by scooping away big helpings of points. Last year Khun Munkong proved to be fast in Bangsaen although luck just wasn’t with him, he’s certainly going to want to push hard for the glory of victory. He’s also coming off the back of a debut win in TCR Asia Series at Buriram late last month so that will give him a shot of extra confidence.
In fifth, sixth and seventh places in the overall standings come Khun Rudolf Yu (29 points), Khun Chayut Yangpichit (27 points) and Khun Phatwit Phayakcso (24 points); they all go well at Bangsaen and will certainly be looking to get as far into the mix as they can with all three being good bets for the podium steps if they have untroubled races.
In Class B Khun Munkong still remains in control despite that difficult weekend at Bira. He still managed to pick up a few useful points to move up to 83 points in the classification. However Khun Rudolf had a much better weekend at Bira and has narrowed the gap in Class B down to 13 points so it’s still all to play for here.
In Class 2 Khun Jetsada Yangpichit has 85 points going into Bangsaen with his closest rival, Khun Issares Chirapongsananurak, on 64 points, if the former can avoid the barriers he’s well placed to wrap up the title. David Yupensuk had a great weekend at the last round and a win and a runners up finish in class means he climbs a couple of places up the classification and into third place with 64 points and that leaves him just 4 points adrift of Khun Issares so the championship runners up spot is wide open.
The Teams’ overall championship is going to get interesting as four teams are in with a shout of the title. OMP Vattana Motorsport has 84 points and holds a slender lead so it’s going to be all down to the solo work of Khun Jack to wrap up the title.
Hot on Vattana’s heels comes Singha Cosmo TT Motorsport (79 points), RMI Racing Team by Sunoco and Sittipol Lipo K45 equal on 70 points while in fifth place in the rankings with 56 points Singha XO Team Eakie can certainly aim to move up the order when the final standings are issued after Bangsaen.
Preview: Super Pickup
Khun Songsak Kornsirisuepsakun and Khun Jaras Jaengkamolkulchai have to start as overwhelming favourites for the wins in Bangsaen. The teammates have won five of the six races so far, three wins for the former and two for the latter and completed four 1-2 finishes. That’s impressive form and they will most likely be going at each other as soon at the lights turn green for Super Pickup’s two races which will take place on Friday and Saturday afternoon.
They lead out the overall championship standings too, Khun Songsak has 105 points to Khun Jaras’s 82. The only other driver to register a win, Khun Aekaluck Nakkerd, has 69 points and can certainly target Khun Jaras’s grip on the vice champion’s spot overall while he also takes a healthy lead in Class B into Bangsaen.
In Class C Khun Pheerawat Pajeeyachart hasn’t finished off the podium in the six races so far this year and has won half of them. That form has given him a 33 point lead and the title is effectively a formality. Second place is currently held by Khun Johnny Massoud; this is his first year in racing so that’s a very impressive performance albeit his advantage is just 6 points over Wuttichai Solgosoom so the vice champions spot is likely to go all the way to the checkered flag.
The Team’s overall championship has already been decided as YSS Racing Shock-Singha-Project M-Peak Power has amassed a massive 187 points while Donut D.N.A Exedy Racing is on 117 points and has wrapped up the runners up spot as well as the Class B title while in Class C the Krating Daeng Racing Team is very well placed to scoop up the title in its debut season in Super Pickup.
Preview: Super 1500
The battle for the Drivers’ title between Khun Nuttapong Lertlumprasertkul and Khun Kajornsak Na Songkhla is likely to go right down to the checkered flag of the final race. The advantage has swung all year and going into Bangsaen the former has a 5 point advantage, far too close for comfort, it’s 90 points vs 85 points. Expect these two, who have won all six races this year between them, four to Khun Nuttapong and two to Khun Kajornsak, to be out front as usual.
But there is also the glory of winning in Bangsaen and that’s going to bring more people into the winning mix, look out for Khun Nuttapong’s brother, Khun Komkrit, to be targeting ending the Super 1500 year with a victory – and also taking away vital championship points from Khun Kajornsak. In Class C Khun Teerasak Sakphaet has already won the title but he’s certainly going to want to add to his four wins from the six races so far and wrap up a crushingly dominant year on a high note.
Preview: Super Production
The momentum is with Khun Yotsarun Sansuk as he has three wins and a second place from the last four races and – despite missing the opening rounds of the year – that’s pulled him to the top of the championship classification. If he can continue that pace then he has to be a very strong contender to convert his classification lead into putting both hands on the championship trophy.
But Khun Yotsarun’s advantage is only 8 points and in Bangsaen that means very little. While the championship leader has 75 points, Khun Chatrapol Jiemvijid is on 67 points and Khun Settasit Booykiat is on 62 points. Both are highly experienced and know how to dig in and extract points out of Bangsaen so are a long way from giving up pretensions for the crown. It’s going to be an explosive weekend in Bangsaen at the front of Super Production.
Both Khun Yotsarun and Khun Jiemvijid are also Class B drivers and here the gap between them is just 1 point so for this pair the stakes are doubly high as there are two crowns on offer this weekend while Khun Sirisak Manthugumphol is only just adrift of them so there’s a three way battle in store in this class. In Class C however Khun Nattanid Leewattanavaragul has a healthy cushion at the top of the standings and should have already done enough to wrap up the title, her advantage is 31 points which means just one fourth place finish is enough for her to claim championship honours.
In the Teams’ championship the Tein Racing Team is effectively out of sight having notched up an impressive 124 points, however the vice champions spot is still wide open and will be a showdown between RMI Racing Team by Waxy (67 points), OMP Vattana Motorsport (62 points) and BBR CEA Racing (60 points). In Class B Tein has another formality to complete to take the title in Bangsaen while in Class C Morin Top1 RMI Racing Team has a healthy advantage at the top of the classification and shouldn’t lose its half grip on the title.
Preview: Super Eco
In Super Eco the title fight is still wide open and is going to be a showdown between Khun Konpichit Toyingcharoen, Khun Jakraphan Davee who is just 5 points adrift and Khun Suphong Khamtonwong who is a further 5 points back. The current points leader has enjoyed a very consistent year with a win and points in every race and that’s kept him at or close to the top of the classification all year.
Khun Jakraphan also has a win and has been on the podium in five of the season’s six races so far, but he had a costly DNF at the season opener that he’s been recovering from that ever since. However Khun Jakraphan, a former Thai finalist in Nissan’s GT Academy ‘racing game’ initiative, certainly has the best momentum as the Super Eco drivers’ arrive in Bangsaen
Khun Suphong seized control of the championship over the first four races of the year with three wins but he missed the last round at Bira and that allowed Khun Konpichit and Khun Jakraphan to both overhaul him. However he’s only 10 points adrift and if he can quickly recapture his early year form and bang in two more wins then that would be enough to hand him the title and that all means Khun Konpichit is really going to have to dig in if he’s to defend his slender title advantage to the end.
In the Teams’ championship Krating Daeng Racing Team has 98 points, a decent cushion over Alphafactory Racing Team by Pulzar (66 points) and it’s an advantage that the team should be able to hold onto as it targets wrapping up three teams championship titles in Bangsaen, namely Super Car Class 3-GTC, Super Pickup Class C and Super Eco.