Pasin Lathouras endured the toughest imaginable 24 Hours of Spa last weekend and the blows kept on landing but although the desired finishing result didn’t quite come about it was nevertheless a hugely satisfying performance as the 22-year-old Thai driver raised his game to a level were he was able to take his place amongst the world’s best professional racing drivers in the world’s biggest race reserved for GT3 cars.
Driving highly consistent double stints, day and night through all the terrible conditions the famous Ardennes weather could throw at the 24-hour race, as well as keeping the car away from the barriers after a huge tyre blow out on the hill down to Eau Rouge late on – all in all it was a very satisfying weekend’s work for Pasin and a big step forward.
This is a learning year for Pasin, competing for the first time in Blancpain GT Endurance Cup, the largest and most competitive international championship reserved for GT cars. Driving for AF Corse for a fourth consecutive year, the young Thai has been paired up with Italians Michele Rugolo and Alessandro Pier Guidi.
The trio went into the 24 Hours of Spa with their confidence on a high having secured the runners up spot at the previous round of Blancpain GT, the Paul Ricard 1000 km. The first blow at Spa though landed during the practice sessions as the organisers handed the Ferrari 488 GT3 a BoP rating that hit its competitiveness compared to its rivals. Despite that, the drivers dug in and after Night Qualifying and finally the climaxing Super Pole shootout a second row grid slot was locked down.
Following the green lights for the start of the 24-hour race Alessandro would very quickly work his way up from that fourth on the grid to second place, briefly leading the race as the cars came pouring in for their first scheduled pitstops on the hour. From there on the race would prove frenetic almost non-stop as the positions in the race dramatically changed. On his second stint in the race Pasin would fight his way right through the top ten to third place, a sign of things to come as he matched the times of the best drivers on track.
The traditional Spa weather conditions though would play their part and, caught out on wet kerbs, the #50 car took a trip into a gravel bed and lost two laps. That would set the tone for the race as it headed into the night as Pasin, Michele and Alessandro dropped all the way back to 47th place and were left with a staggering amount of work to do if they were to drag themselves back into contention.
And work they really did. Throughout the night the drivers battled hard snatching back place after place; by the halfway mark – 12 hours – they were knocking on the door of the top ten. Coupled to that driving was slick work by the AF Corse pit crew who made excellent strategy calls during the many caution and Safety Car periods that helped the #50 car jump extra places up the leaderboard.
As dawn came in over Spa-Francorchamps and the traditional mist and damp made matters even worse, Pasin took over for his stint and pushed the car into the top ten, climbing to P6 as the daylight finally flooded the stunning vista. A stuck wheel during a pitstop however cost them a further half-minute.
Into the final three hours and the poor conditions accelerated, the track was very difficult and Pasin was really pushing the car hard. So hard in fact he hustled the race leading Bentley, which was two laps ahead following the #50 car’s lengthy early pitstop, and after applying constant pressure the young Thai unlapped himself. That pass really summed up just how much Pasin unlocked during this race, the youngster picking off a professional driver in the race leading factory-supported Bentley all in atrocious conditions at Spa-Francorchamps!
The fightback would end though with a couple of hours remaining on the clock as Pasin suffered a left rear tyre blowout heading down the hill from La Source to Eau Rouge at around 230 km/h. Eau Rouge is one of the most legendary – and dangerous – sections in motorsport and heading into it with one tyre shredded and the track soaked is just about as daunting as it gets. Pasin spun the car, skillfully kept it out of the barriers and limped back to the pits – at that point almost full lap’s distance away – on three wheels.
The damage though took several laps to repair and the patched up car finally returned to the race in 19th position. Over the closing hours the crew kept up a fast and consistent pace, clawed back a few places and of course Spa-Francorchamps had its final say on the race with yet another deluge of rain during the closing half hour. However, clearly undaunted and back in the cockpit for the last hour, Pasin brought the thoroughly battered and bruised #50 Ferrari over the finishline in 16th place, the car having completed 524 laps in 24 hours.
It clearly wasn’t quite the finish they had targeted before the start of the race, but to get to the finishline in one piece after the dramas they had been forced to overcome was a huge achievement. For Pasin in the famously demanding confines of Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps he really grew of age, rising in stature to place himself right in amongst the pro drivers.
Pasin Lathouras: “We had a good qualifying first of all and we did the best we could with the BoP. I’m pleased that I had a good pace during the stints and was always consistent which is good. I the first stint I spun because I touched a patch of wet kerb on an exit of a corner that made me lose the back of the car and slide into the gravel. At night I had good double stints and Michele and Alessandro did superb driving like always and we were making up good positions from 47th to 6th with 3 hours remaining when the tyre exploded. The tyre temp and pressure was normal according to the onboard computer so we are not sure what happened. Then after fixing the car, we just tried to keep a good rhythm that got us to the finishline. Spa being what it is, gave us a good down pour 20 minutes before the end of the race but overall I’m very happy with everyone’s performance including my own.”