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The B-Quik Thailand Super Series (TSS) 2022 returns this weekend to Chang International Circuit for the third and penultimate round of the season with a bumper and highly competitive entry list and with the championship standings across the categories finely balanced and all to play for.
TSS resumes on the championship trail after a highly successful first foray to support the Singapore Grand Prix last month under the name ‘TSS The Super Series’ which was counted as a non-championship race.
There are also some exciting names on the grid this weekend too. Former Formula 1 driver and serial international sportscar title winner Markus Winkelhock joins B-Quik Absolute, famous Thai actor and experienced racer Pete Thongchua will drive an AAS Porsche and one of Australia’s most accomplished Supercars stars, Steve Owen, will be in a CRE-entered Ford Mustang.
With more than 150 cars entered over the multi category programme, it is set to be another action-packed weekend in the North East and all eyes will be on the championship battle that’s raging in Super Car GT3.
The live stream will be available HERE
Vattana Motorsport’s Italian duo, Andrea Gagliardini and Jacopo Guidetti, sit on top of the standings after a super consistent start to the season, the Honda NSX GT3 crew scoring points in all four races so far with a fourth and two thirds capped off by a superb win at the Bangsaen Grand Prix – and with key rivals suffering DNFs and DSQs, that approach of getting to the flag has reaped rewards.
Their team mates, former Super Car GT3 champion Chonsawat Asavahame and Pitsanu Sirimongkolkasem, enjoyed a fantastic start to the year in Bangsaen with a win and second place. However it all went south last time out in Buriram and they are now 18 points off the Italian pair and need to rekindle their Bangsaen form if they are still to take a shot at the crown.
Their closest chasers for the title are the first of the quartet of B-Quik Absolute Audi drivers, the 2019 and 2020 Super Car GT3 champion, Sandy Stuvik, and his new partner for this year, Malaysian hotshot Akash Nandy. They are 13 points adrift and have three runners-up spots this year to their name, although a DNF at Bangsaen has very proved costly. But both drivers are fast and this partnership is really gelling now so they will be hunting hard for the title.
Also, right in the mix for B-Quik Absolute is the Audi of Daniel Bilski and Philip Massoud. The former is the 2020 GT3 champion and after a relatively tough start to the season they scored a crucial win in the last race and are a surmountable 22 points off the top – less than a win’s worth away. Unquestionably this all-Australian crew will be digging deep this weekend! The team’s remaining Audis are driven by Team Owner Henk Kiks alongside Sri Lanka’s Eshan Pieris and The Philippines Vincente Floriendo who pairs up with Winkelhock.
In the Super Car GT3 Teams’ championship it looks like it’s going to be decided between these two outfits – and the margin is wafer thin: Vattana arrives in Buriram on 119 points and B-Quik Absolute in 116 points!
Factory-run Toyota Gazoo Racing Team Thailand Racing comes with strength of numbers including a brace of Lexus RC F cars in Super Car GT3, plus further entries across GTM and GTC. In GT3 they kick off with an RC F driven by 2021 Super Car GT3 champion Piti Bhirombhakdi while the other machine will have a hugely experienced line-up, shared by long time team stalwarts Manat Kulapalanont and Nattapong Horthongkum. The latter pair have also scored points in all races and claimed a win last time out in Buriram but they need further wins here this weekend, on a track that should suit the Lexus, if they are to mount a late season title charge.
Also look out for the Singha Motorsports Team Thailand Ferrari 488 GT3 crewed by Team Owner Voravud Bhirombhakdi with former Japan F3 champion and Honda factory Super GT driver Carlo Van Dam alongside. They had a very tough start to the year in Bangsaen when a practice crash scratched them from the event and dented their title hopes so they will be hunting wins – and this is a combination that’s capable of delivering so watch out!
TSS is excited that Malaysia’s Viper Niza Racing will join the series for the final rounds fielding their newly acquired Aston Martin Vantage GT3 for the experienced Douglas Khoo with a Vantage GT4 version to be driven by young rising Malaysian star Adam Khalid.
Super Car GTM is shaping up to be a terrific fight too, with the large contingent of Porsches being so far dominated by the Mongkol Motorsports 992 GT3 Cup shared by the Sathienthirakul brothers, Tanart and Munkong. With two wins and two runners up spots from four races they have opened up a 24-point gap in the overall standings over the Lexus of Nattavude Charoensukhawatana.
However, Nattavude is one of the most trophy-laden drivers in Thai motorsport history and it would be foolish to write off this wily fox – for sure he has his eye on the title and will be putting that huge bank of experience to good use as he chases the overall prize as well as the AM title which is in his grasp.
Another car to look out for this weekend is the AAS-entered Porsche 991 GT3 Cup driven by former Super Car champion Kantadhee Kusiri which he will share with a surprise addition to the entry list, superstar actor Pete Thongchua. Pete, who is a former multiple Super Pickup champion, has enjoyed a long racing career has just completed a successful shakedown with the car but reckons there’s still a lot more to learn about it.
In Super Car GTC there’s an 18-strong entry as this category continues to boom, particularly thanks to an influx of GT4 cars. In the overall standings Jack Lemvard (Ford Mustang TA2) tops the table while Adisak Tangphuncharoen (Porsche) leads the Production points category as well as being hard on the heels of Lemvard in the overall standings.
In fact, the other CRE Mustang will be driven by Steve Owen, a highly successful Australian racer who was the Super2 Series title winner in 2008 and 2010 as well as having two runners-up places at the Bathurst 1000 to his name, in 2010 for Triple Eight Race Engineering alongside Jamie Whincup and in 2015 for Tickford Racing with Mark Winterbottom.
Another car to look out for in GTC is the Daytona GT Coupe which stands out thanks to a shape and sound quite unlike anything else on the grid. Built by RR Motorsport, it’s being driven by Tecpro Barriers owner Rafael Galiana. This year is something of an intensive on track development programme.
And while on unusual cars, young Thai driver Thanathip Thanalapanan is quickly making a name for himself in Vattana’s quirky KTM X-Bow GT4. Also, B-Quik Absolute Racing’s new MY2022 Porsche Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport is being taken over by upcoming German driver Kristof Schöffling for this race.
The race action takes place this weekend with double-header races across Saturday and Sunday. All the action will be live streamed in Thai, as well as in English on Speedcafe.com.
