The action has been as hot as the weather in Buriram as Thailand Super Series 2015 has kicked off in real style. The official practice and qualifying sessions took place yesterday (the races will unfold today and tomorrow) and the first signs of the new season’s order have started to emerge.
In Super Car Class 1-GTM Khun Tomáš Enge is back for a second season and he wants to pick up where he left off in Bangsaen last December, stating his intent behind the wheel of the big Camaro GT3 by bagging pole position. The top class champion, Khun Chonsawat Asavahame has a new racecar and he’s closed the gap up, he’s looking to defend his title and was in equally impressive form yesterday.
Super Car Class 2-GTM however provides the biggest story here this week thanks to its bumper entry and youngster Khun Kantasak Kusiri has laid down the marker will some real pace, culminating in a blisteringly quick qualifying lap that comfortably planted his Ferrari on pole.
The next five ‘GTM’ cars were covered by just half a second in qualifying, which means that the season already looks like its going to live up to all the hype, while in Super Car Class 3-GTC it also looks like its going to be very close, pole went to the Mitsubishi Evo of Khun Grant Supaphong but he’s not going to have it his own way at all.
Khun Jack Lemvard claimed pole in Super 2000 behind the wheel of Vattana’s BMW E90 but there were some really stunning performances in the ‘touring car’ category and that’s really the story right through the rest of the support categories – Super Pickup, Super 1500, Super Production and Super Eco – everywhere the time gaps are very tight.
There has been a blisteringly hot sun this week together with rain, heavy clouds and strong winds and that unpredictability in the skies is going to be matched by unpredictability on the track as the new season starts to shake out. The race programme gets underway this morning and will continue until dusk on Sunday. It really is promising to be a weekend to remember for Thai motorsport.
Qualifying: Super Car Class 1-GT3
Khun Tomáš Enge stated his intent quite clearly during the practice sessions earlier in the week and yesterday morning in the single official free session it was the same story as the Czech driver whacked in a 1:36.388. That set the Chevrolet Camaro GT3 driver up perfectly for the late afternoon qualifying and he didn’t disappoint his growing fanbase here.
As soon as the lights went green Khun Tomáš gunned the big black machine out of the garage and thumped in a 1:36.363 banker lap to go P1 on the timing screens and he stayed there for the remaining half hour of the session. No one could match his times.
“I like this track because it has a bit of everything, slow, high speed corners, medium, long straights and sections of acceleration, but after such a hot day the track was a little bit slippery and it wasn’t possible to make a laptime faster than we did,” explained Khun Tomáš afterwards, stating that the Camaro however was quite well suited to this track. “I have to praise Khun Chonsawat too because he has improved himself massively since last year and he’s been within two seconds of me which is a bit improvement from him.”
The reigning champion, Khun Chonsawat Asavahame, ordered a new car for this year, the ‘widebody’ Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 Extenso R-EX. It arrived in Thailand late last week, took to the track this week and immediately headed for the top end of the timesheets. Driver and car mean business and expect to see him looking for maximum points scores this weekend as he starts to defend the title.
Khun Chonsawat quickly hit his stride, he’s been improving every time he’s got in the car and he was immediately into P2 with a 1:38.312. That kept him hard on the heels of his ‘pro’ teammate and on the outside of the front row.
Khun Umar A. Rahman turned in a very solid 1:44.198 to claim P3 on the grid but the Class 1-GT3 ranks took a hit – literally – on Thursday in the free sessions as Khun Indharasak Techaterasiri suffered a big moment out of Turn 7, big enough to put the Gallardo GT3 out of action for the weekend, although, fortunately, the driver was unscathed. Khun Indharasak was left without a car for the weekend but will be back when the series returns here for Race 3 & 4 and will have a brand new machine.
Qualifying: Super Car Class 2-GTM
Khun Kantasak Kusiri has been right on the pace all week long in his new mount, Singha Motorsport Team Thailand’s #34 Ferrari 458 Challenge, and the youngster went straight to the top of the Class 2-GTM timesheets when the lights turned green for the official qualifying session.
He stayed there too. A driver-car package that has come together perfectly over the last few days his best time of 1:40.436 was eight-tenths of a second faster than anyone else could manage and with the team’s swap to Yokohama tyres he should have a consistent race pace this afternoon that will be very hard for anyone to challenge. Already it appears that it could be Khun Kantasak’s race to loose.
The Ferrari pilot though faces a string of fast and hungry drivers who want a shot at nothing less than P1. That list starts with a pair of quick Porsches. Khun Sarun Sereethoranakul ended last year on a high and he hasn’t stood still over the winter. The car is ready for action, he has Japanese star Khun Keita Sawa in the garage to support him and a team that wants to win, the result in qualifying was a 1:41.233 best lap that puts him onto the outside of the front row.
With a late season win last year and third place in the Drivers’ championship, Khun Aekarat Discharoen is fired up for 2015 and he signaled his intent to chase for honours with a 1:41.402 quickest time in the #11 ‘997’. Just like Khun Sarun he is carrying his end of season top form into the new season.
One-tenth adrift of the blue and orange Porsche comes the black and yellow ‘Bumblebee’. Khun Henk J. Kiks looked more at home in the #26 B-Quik Racing Audi R8 LMS Cup than ever before in Thursday’s practice sessions and the Dutchman is clearly confident in the car. He carried that pace forward to the qualifying session, steadily working his way up the order to provisional P2 before settling in P4. He’s set his fastest ever times here this week and should be right in the hunt at the business end of the action today – last year he posted the fastest race laps here, so the signs are all good.
Just a tenth behind the Audi comes the ‘gold’ Porsche 991 GT3 Cup of Khun Pitsanu Sirimongkolkasem, who turned in a best lap in 1:41.656 during qualifying. He’s graduating from a front wheel drive, front engine Super 2000 Honda Civic FD to the rear wheel drive, rear engine ‘991’ so he has plenty to learn, as does his team who are stepping up with him. So far it looks like they have learnt a lot and Khun Pitsanu can be expected to improve further during the races.
Another one-tenth further back is Khun Jack Lemvard in Vattana Motorsport’s Porsche 996 GT3 Cup. The car is bedding in a new transmission and eventually an electrical problem stranded him out on track during qualifying, but not before he had turned in a 1:41.745, which was good enough for P6. Khun Jack knows this car inside out, is a blisteringly fast driver and if he enjoys mechanical reliability today he will be on the podium. Just how far the 996 can carry him up the steps remains the question.
That means five cars, from P2 to P6, are covered by half a second so we can expect a really sensational tussle in the middle order of the top ten this afternoon. And there are more drivers looking to get into that mix, starting with the reigning champion Khun Voravud Bhirombhakdi who turned in a 1:42.134 to claim P7. With his teammate on pole, it means Singha Motorsport Team Thailand are very well positioned not just in the Drivers’ championship running but in the Teams’ as well.
Khun Craig Corliss, Khun Nattavude Charoensukhawatana and Khun Daniel Bilski complete the top-ten. The New Zealander is bedding in his rebuilt Holden Commodore VE, he has two factory engineers from Australia to support him here, and turned in some very good laptimes. The Toyota driver was surprisingly low on the leaderboard by his sky-high standards and he was on the backfoot with suspensions issues. However the 2014 Class 2-GTM vice-champion believes that the car can be sorted so he should be working his way up the leaderboard this afternoon.
Khun Daniel in the B-Quik Porsche 997 GT3 Cup had tyre issues that pulled the rug out from under him but he was learning the track from scratch and was happy with the progress he was making. “We had a tough qualifying session today, as I built up pace I had a problem with the rear tyres forcing me to pit and change tyres,” he explained. “Unfortunately the problem reoccurred so I had to stop the car and settle for P10. Qualifying aside, I’m enjoying my first taste of the TSS and can’t wait for the race.”
Meanwhile, 2014 Super Car Class 3-GTC champion Khun Akihiro Asai, who was scheduled to defend that title in the Unity Vattana Ferrari 360 Challenge, swapped at the very last minute into a spare Gallardo LP520 to give extra support to Khun Jack and provide Vattana Motorsport with a two car entry in Class 2-GTM that can take the fight to the front runners. The hastily prepared Lamborghini very quickly developed a misfire though and that curtailed the Japanese driver’s qualifying session – but not before he had run a 1:44.329 on his second lap out that was good enough for P11. If the car is reliable then expect Khun Akihiro to be pushing his way straight into the top-ten.
Khun Suttiluck Buncharoen has swapped from Class 1-GT3 to Class 2-GTM this year and is in the Porsche that this weekend’s polesitter, Khun Kantasak, drove last year. He was still bedding into the car yesterday and reported after the session that the car not quite there yet with the setup and balance, he also noted that he was suffering gearshifting issues. Even so he posted a 1:44.750, which gave him a respectable P12.
Next up was newcomer Khun John Curran in the Team NZ Porsche, but he will start from the back of the grid today due to the special ‘driver swap’ arrangement. P14 went to Khun Bhisanu Bhusitarnuntakul who is set to have his first race behind the wheel of Lamborghini’s Super Trofeo.
Then comes the Painkiller Racing Porsche of Khun Shuipang Kanjanapas, the second factory Toyota 86 of Khun Nattapong Horthongkum, the Ferrari 458 Challenge of TSS debutant Khun Bhurit Bhirombhakdi and the third official Toyota, which is driven by Khun Manat Kulapalanont who is being promoted by the team up from Super 2000.
Qualifying: Super Car Class 3-GTC
Last year’s Class 3-GTC vice-champion Khun Grant Supaphong quickly stated his intent to go one better this year with a 1:48.315 best lap in qualifying which was 1.4 seconds quicker than anyone else could manage. This looks to be a very strong driver-car package and will take some beating today, but his Evo X isn’t always entirely reliable so that could play into the hands of his rivals.
Khun Grant’s teammate, Khun Daychapon Toyingcharoen, will line up next to him to make it an all front row for the Krating Daeng Racing Team while Row 2 will be led out by Khun Settasit Boonyakiat who stepped into the Ferrari 360 Challenge of Khun Akihiro Asai when Vattana Motorsport, at the very last minute, switched him up to Class 2-GTM. Normally to be found racing in Super Production, Khun Settasit did a clean and tidy job in the qualifying session to nail down P3. Khun Sontaya Kunplome also got the job done in his usual Porsche to complete the second row.
Row 3 will be out by Khun Khun Narasak Ittritpong, back on the Super Car grid after more than a year out. It wasn’t where he wanted to be and he was immediately on the backfoot when he took to the track for the first time on Thursday as the engine in the Vattana Motorsport Mitsubishi Evo let go after just a handful of laps. The team had a spare engine in the garage, but it was a much more standard unit and Khun Narasak went into qualifying with a lot less horses than he had hoped and a car that was a long way from being sorted.
Still, this driver has obvious pace and he knows the car well, having stunned with a debut win in Super Car Class 2-GTM at Bira Circuit in the Evo on his, albeit brief, return to racing in 2013. He had been set to race at Bangsaen the last year but an injured ankle put paid to that so it’s been a very long overdue comeback for this highly talented racer and fans will be glad to see him around this year to make a serious tilt at the Class 3-GTC title where this ageing racecar is now running. If the Vattana mechanics can get the car shipshape for this afternoon then Khun Narasak has to be a challenger for the win. Alongside the Evo on the grid will be the Toyota 86 of Khun Suttipong Smittachartch.
Next up was the ‘Evo’ of Khun Chayut Yangpichit. The car he drove here last year hasn’t yet arrived back from Japan (where it has received a new engine and other upgrades) so his entry this weekend is a ‘stop gap’ example and as such he will be looking to reach the checkered flag and score championship points. Then comes Khun Kraingkrai Woraratanatham in the A Motorsport prepared Subaru BRZ, he did a steady job as he gets used to both the car and track, followed by Khun Narin Yensuk in the Nissan Skyline R32, he’s back for a second year in Class 3-GTC, and the Mazda RX-8 of Khun Pete Thongchua, who steps across to the category for this year after running the car in Class 2-GTM in 2014.
Finally, the Ginetta of Khun Naputt Assakul was on course for a front row start but failed a ride height check after qualifying and will thus start from the back. The underpowered car has gained from this year’s weight regulations but it will still leave this driver a lot of work to do to make it up the running order and into a respectable position this afternoon.
Qualifying: Super 2000
Khun Jack Lemvard shrugged off the additional weight BMW’s rear wheel drive E90 has to carry to comply with the regulations for this year and did what he does best to plant the #44 car onto the top of the timesheets. He made very easy work of it in truth and his best lap of 1:52.512 was out of reach for the other twenty-three Super 2000 cars in action on Friday afternoon.
Khun Jack’s margin at the front was a whopping 1.7 seconds when the checkered flag was waved and his rivals are left hoping for some unreliability to hit the E90 if they are to have any chance of victory this afternoon.
The driver expressed some surprise afterwards at the time margin he had in hand. “I’m happy to be on pole because we were 100 kilos over so I didn’t really expect to be one and a half seconds faster,” said Khun Jack. “The car feels good, handles good and I hope we can finish the race. It’s a car that finishes the races; it might not be very powerful but it works well round the corners. If you look at the first sector I’m two seconds off but in the second sector I’m five seconds faster than second place so it’s very good at cornering.”
Behind him though there were were stunning performances and they start with Khun Kittipol Pramoj Na Ayudhya in the fastest of the ubiquitous Honda Civic FD entries. Last year’s Class B vice-champion banged in an impressive 1:54.233 to lead out the class and he will thus lineup the #25 Singha Cosmo TT Motorsport machine on the front row of the grid.
This driver is improving every year of his relatively short career and it looks like he’s taken another step forward. Making it even more impressive is the fact that he sat in the car for the first time this week (and this year) only yesterday morning as business commitments kept him away from the paddock on Thursday, so he had just one free practice session to brush off the rust and set himself up for qualifying.
“I went out and near the end of the lap something on the gear linkage broke so came in to get it fixed,” explained Khun Kittipol. “I went out [again] and did a few laps to get my best lap in.” He reckons tyre wear is going to be an issue today and preserving the rubber is going to be the key to getting a good result.
And there was another superb performance next up as Khun Rudolf Yu’s best lap in 1:54.562 was good enough for P3 and just three tenths off Khun Kittipol. The Hong Kong driver took a double Class C win here last year on his TSS debut as well as a stunning P3 overall and clearly he’s got everything very well hooked up here. Bumped up to Class B thanks to securing the vice-champion’s spot in Class C last year, Khun Rudolf will lead out Row 2 and start P2 in Class B. It was even more impressive as he lost track time on Thursday as his Civic FD’s engine blew and the team had to swap it for a replacement unit.
There was an equally impressive qualifying session from Khun Pasarit Phromsombat who wrapped up Row 2 in the RMI Racing Team by Sunoco’s Honda DC5. The reigning Super Production champion, Khun Pasarit has stepped up to Super 2000 this year and clearly he’s going to carry his form forward. His best lap, in 1:54.675, was just one-tenth off Khun Rudolf and the DC5 was also patched up overnight after an off in Thursday’s practice sessions.
Khun Chayut Yangpichit went well here last year in the TT Motorsport DC5 and he’s carried that pace over as his quickest lap, in 1:55.029, sees him next up while Khun Jakthong Navasoopanich in the Speedbuster Ducati Chiang Mai Toyota Altis was sixth fastest. However he required an engine change and that will put him down to the back of the grid.
Seventh and eight fastest times went to Honda drivers as Khun Kittipol’s teammate, Khun Thamrong Mahadumrongkul, led out Khun Phawit Phayakcso. The former was held back during qualifying by tyre and engine issues.
The next two times were something of a family affair as Khun Ekprawat Petcharak in the first current-generation Civic FB to lineup on the TSS entry lists to edged out his nephew, Khun Pure Hongsapan, in the first of the factory Toyota Altis entries, the #2 machine. Khun Pure has claimed the drive thanks to winning the Toyota One Make Race series last year and leads out Class C on his first time in Super 2000. However his Toyota factory teammate, Khun Chen Jian Hong, had a lot less luck, he didn’t set a time a time and will start from the back of the grid this afternoon.
Snapping hard on the heels of the top-ten in qualifying were Supachai Weeraborwornpong, in his familiar ‘day glo’ #71 DC5, he set a time good enough for P11, Khun Wijak Lertprasertpakorn (P12), Artit Masathirakul (P13), Khun Bhisanu Bhusitarnuntakul (P14) and Khun Jetsada Yangpichit (P15).
As well as Khun Chen, there will be plenty of fast names at the tail end of the 24-car strong grid who will be looking to make up a lot of ground this afternoon, including the returning Khun Vasu Saksirivejkul (with the P16 time yesterday), Khun Paritat Bulbon (P18) in the turbodiesel VW Golf, Khun Thanavud Bhirombhakdi (P19) in the Singha Motorsport Team Thailand Civic FD that was driven by Khun Carlo Van Dam in Super 2000 last year, Khun Vasu’s team mate Pooramin Meesamanyout (P22), who had all sorts of teething problems yesterday with his Civic FD, and finally Khun Munkong Sathienthirakul who was expected to be a challenger for the front row of the grid but instead didn’t turn a wheel in qualifying thanks to engine problems and will join Khun Chen right at the back of the grid.
All these drivers clearly have plenty of pace to extract from their cars and so it looks like there will be serious battles right up and down the order when the lights go green for Super 2000’s first race of the year at 1315 this afternoon.
Qualifying: Super Pickup
There will be a new name on pole position today, not just because the yellow Mazda BT-50 of Khun Thanapol Thonchua was absent this weekend, but the Super Pickup game has gone up a notch and it was a new face, Khun Songsak Kornsirisuepsakun, who took a very comfortable pole position yesterday with a best lap of 2:02.122. In fact the #92 YSS Racing Shock-Singha-Project M-Peak Power Isuzu D-Max driver was 1.7 seconds ahead of the next truck on the timesheets – could that be fresh shades of Khun Thanapol’s three-year crushing domination?
His rivals will certainly hope not and they start with his teammate Khun Jaras Jaengkamolkulchai who will lineup alongside him when the trucks kick off the weekend’s races at 0900. Khun Jaras, who turned in a best lap of 2:03.851 in the #29 Chevrolet Colorado, is a real veteran of the truck racing scene and has claimed umpteen titles over the years; he knows how to win races and will be looking to take the battle to Khun Songsak.
Khun Aekaluck Nakkerd (Donut D.N.A Exedy Racing) impressed everyone last year and it looks like he’s going to make more waves in Class B too this year. He banged in a best lap of 2:06.074 in the #16 D-Max to claim P3 and the Class B pole and in the process edged out 2014 Class B vice-champion, Khun Phisit Netdechathanasit in the Innovation Motorsport Mazda BT-50.
Row 3 was led out by the first of the two new Isuzu D-Max trucks from the Krating Daeng Racing Team. This prestigious Thai team has taken up the challenge of pickup racing this year and Japanese driver Khun Songkran Yamamura in the #4 entry made a great start to Thai racing by planting the #4 machine on inside of Row 3. His teammate, Khun Johnny Massoud, kept up the good work with a slot on the outside of the next row to give the team a 1-2 in Class C, even more impressive is the fact that both are new to racing. Sandwiched in between the two black trucks will be Khun Waris Onyarab, the Class B reigning championship, who was in P6 overall, and Khun Aekaluck’s Donut D.N.A Exedy racing teammate Khun Nuthaporn Namjuk, who switches away from his regular Toyota to a D-Max this year.
Qualifying: Super 1500
Pole position went to a familiar name in this category, Khun Nuttapong Lertlumprasertkul with a best lap of 2:01.030; he also claimed Class B pole. The Honda EG driver fended off the challenge of 2014 Super Production vice-champion Khun Kajornsak Na Songkhla who has switched to Super 1500 with his Ford Fiesta this year. The gap between the pair was three tenths of a second and it means there is all to play for today.
The third fastest time was set by Khun U-tain Pongprapas (Honda EG) who was just under a second shy of pole position and took the Class C top spot. The top six was rounded out by Khun Komkrit Lertlumprasertkul (Honda EG), Khun Teersak Sakphaet, who also posted the second quickest time in Class C, and Khun Isara Limthanetkul (Honda EK9).
Qualifying: Super Production
Khun Thomas Raldorf has made an instant impact on his return to Super Production, the CEA Racing Honda City driver breezed his way to pole position yesterday in 2:03.940. The Dane, who had a promising test here last Tuesday, was in confident mood going into Friday’s qualifying session and delivered the goods, albeit the gap to P2 was just one-tenth of a second.
Second fastest in fact was the similar style Honda City of Khun Aunsorn Asiralertsiri who showed a lot of improvement last year and looks like he’s going to be carrying that form into the new season. His best lap of 2:04.041 puts him on the front row next to Khun Thomas and gives him an excellent P1 in Class C. Third quickest was the RMI Racing Team Honda Jazz of Khun Chattraphol Jiemvijid who was half a second further back and was also top Class B runner, while the second row of the grid today will be completed by OMP Vattana Motorsport’s Khun Settasit Boonyakit (who has a last minute drive in Super Car Class 3-GTC this weekend as well) and was another half second further back.
Row 3 will be the preserve of Khun Thanasith Bhunyatharanonth (Honda Jazz) and Khun Poomee Phromatham who also lockout P3 and P4 in Class B. The former is always in the hunt for the podium positions and has looked neat and tidy this week while the latter is the Super Eco champion and making the step up to Super Production this year. Khun Poomee is also debuting a brand new Jazz and has looked fast throughout the practice sessions. There are actually a handful of new-generation Jazz GK racecars here but this driver has the honor of being the fastest of the breed here in qualifying.
While Khun Anusorn pulled out a superb lap to claim not just a berth on the overall front row, but also Class C pole, there was another fighting performance from Khun Nattanid Leewattanavalagul, her best lap in 2:06.702 saw her claim P2 in Class C. This young lady driver put in an excellent lap in the brand new Jazz GK she will race for Morin Top 1 RMI Racing Team. Third in Class C went to another RMI driver, Khun Thanawat Wongnapachant, while the class top five was completed by Khun Tachapan Vijittranon who is enjoying her first race with Innovation Motorsport’s Mazda2 (her team mate Khun Michael Freeman is debuting the new Mazda2 model in diesel format here) and Khun Phongthep Wachirarungruag, who is also behind the wheel of a Jazz GK entered by RMI.
Qualifying: Super Eco
It was actually closer between the top two in Super Eco than any other category – and that’s a ringing endorsement of the concept, which aims to progressively introduce novice drivers to the racing ladder. Evenly matched cars with very limited modifications allow prospective drivers to learn and to shine.
That was the case yesterday as the battle for pole was ferocious – and in the end it came down to just a few hundredths of a second. Khun Supong Khamtonwong (Suzuki Swift) and Khun Kmik Karnasuta traded times at the top of the classification and in the end it swung in the favour of the former. Khun Supong bagged pole with a 2:14.146 lap, edging out Khun Kmik, who turned in a best time of 2:14.157, by fractions – it simply couldn’t get any closer than that. Khun Kmik, at just 15 years of age, takes another step forward this year as he further hones his natural pace into race winning potential and his first trip to the top step of the Super Eco podium can’t be far away now.
Such was the pace of the top two that the third driver was more than a second back. Khun Konpichit Toyingcharoen (Swift) is also making strides forward as a driver and and a best lap in 2:15.371 means the Krating Daeng pilot will lead out Row 2 with B-Quik Racing’s Khun Nattaphon Rattanawong (2:15743) just four-tenths further back as the Brio driver is yet another to show a big year on year improvement in pace.
Khun Jakraphan Davee, who making his debut in Super Eco, leads out Row 3 with a 2:16.054. That was a great lap time from the Brio Amaze driver who has quite limited racing experience but was one of the Thai finalists in Nissan’s global search for a star contest last year and is now busy putting that talent to good use. Khun Jakraphan will be joined on Row 3 by Khun Attapot Sriprom who turned a very tidy best lap in 2:16.395.
The unique Kia Picanto driven by Khun Rattanin Leenutaphong is on the fourth row while the quickest lady was Khun Tachanan Yooyen who is two rows further back. Nineteen cars qualified yesterday and expect a lot of close action in Super Eco when they wrap up today’s busy programme at 1600 with their opening race of the weekend.