10/06/2016

Chang International Circuit, Buriram, Thailand

Rnd#3/4, 2016 TCR Asia Series - 10-12 June, 2016

 

• TCR Asia Series returns to Thailand to battle in rounds three and four

• Local hero Tin Sritrai starts favourite, but there are plenty of challengers

• Addition of TCR Thailand regulars threatens to upstage the established stars

 

The TCR Asia Series will make a return to Thailand this weekend for the second event on the 2016 calendar at Chang International Circuit in Buriram, with an impressive entry which also includes a number of local teams competing in the Thailand TCR Series.

 

15 cars are entered for the Buriram event - the host circuit of the 2015 TCR Asia Series finale - and whilst the heat of Thailand in summer will provide plenty of challenges, so too will the entries, with an array of talented young stars keen to impress against some of Asia’s most respected and experienced touring car competitors.

 

Leading the fray will be 2015 Buriram winner and points leader Tin Sritrai. The local hero will be a firm fan favourite, but he will have his work cut out for him this weekend, the talented touring car star will be doing double-duty all weekend, having signed on to drive a GTC class Ferrari 458 in GT Asia with Voravud Bhirombhakdi.

 

After his victory in race two in South Korea, he will also have some additional ballast to contend with, Sritrai’s Team Thailand Honda Civic TCR carrying an additional 20kg in success ballast. Round one winner, and race points leader Roelof Bruins will also carry additional weight (30kg), and so too Liqui Moly team Engstler’s Andy Yan (10kg).

 

All three are expected to be in the mix again this weekend, but they will have some serious local competition from the Thailand TCR Series regulars who competed in their opening round at the Buriram circuit three weeks ago, so they are more than race ready and looking forward to the challenge presented by the TCR Asia Series drivers.

 

Leading the local charge will be Vattana Motorsport’s Jack Lemvard who claimed two podium finishes behind Singha Motorsport’s Carlo Van Dam - who returns to GT Asia duties this weekend. Joining him in a Vattana run Honda Civic TCR, will be Narasak Ittiritpong who drove a Vattana Lamborghini at the GT Asia Series finale at Buriram in 2015, the Thai driver was impressive last year, and is again expected to mix it with the leaders.

 

TBN MK ihere Racing’s Nattachak Hanjitkasem will also campaign a Honda Civic TCR, and he will be looking to improve on the two fourth placed finishes he attained in the Thailand Super Series round, whilst Paritat Bulbon will also be hoping to get into the mix in the Sloth Racing Seat Leon TCR.

 

Champ Motorsport will once again campaign two Honda Civic TCR’s, one for Macau’s Henry Ho, and the other for Series rookie, Macau’s Eurico de Jesus.

 

Volkswagen will again be well represented with TeamWork Motorsport once again campaigning Bill O’Brien and Kevin Tse, whilst Filipe de Souza will again line up alongside Andy Yan in the second of the Liqui Moly Team Engstler Golf GTi TCRs.

 

Viper Niza Racing’s Douglas Khoo will be back in his Seat Leon TCR, looking to apply the valuable knowledge the Malaysian team gained from their race winning experiences in South Korea.

 

2015 Series regulars Roadstar Racing will also return, with team boss Kenneth Ma taking over the driving duties of the #22 car, whilst South Korean drivers Terrence Tse and Yu Kam Cheong will share the wheel of the #17 car.

 

You’d be hard pressed to look past local hero Tin Sritrai for victory, but he won’t have this weekend all his own way. Viper Niza Racing’s Roelof Bruins was a sensation on his debut at South Korea, dramatically taking the opening race in the menacing black Seat Leon. He’ll be back in the thick of the action this weekend, but like Sritrai will carry success ballast which will allow the hungry pack to close the gap.

 

Multiple China Touring Car Champion Andy Yan too will be in the thick of the action, and the Liqui Moly Team Engstler operation will be keen to apply their intimate knowledge of the Golf GTi TCR to the two team cars, and Yan will be keen to apply his experience of front-wheel drive touring cars to go after his maiden win in TCR.

 

Henry Ho made the podium at the opening round in South Korea and will be a big threat in the Champ Motorsport Honda, whilst Kevin Tse showed great pace in the TeamWork Golf to be leading race two before a spin dropped him back down the order, the Amateur Driver’s points leader will be keen to make amends and go after the podium this weekend.

 

The local teams too will be right in the mix, with the two Vattana cars expected to battle with the TCR Asia Series regulars, Lemvard already showing he has what it takes to mix it with some of the best, whilst Ittiritpong showed in GT Asia last year, that he won’t be intimidated by the established stars.

 

Regardless of what happens, the opening round showed a taste of what we can expect this weekend, with some outstanding racing across both races, and with a bigger field and some experienced locals in the mix, Buriram promises to deliver that and so much more..!

 

Every race in the 2016 TCR Asia Series season will be live-streamed with veteran commentators Jonathan Green - the voice of TCR Asia - joined by Steve Martin to call all the action.

 

Details of the streams and the broadcast times will be available on the TCR Asia Series website - www.asia.tcr-series.com - and through social media; www.facebook.com/TCRAsiaSeries will also post news, video clips, images and updates, and you can also get involved in the conversation on www.twitter.com/TCRAsiaSeries 

 

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Chang International Circuit, Buriram (Thailand)

Track length: 4.554-kilometres

Corners: 12

Rotation: clockwise

Designer/Circuit first opened: Hermann Tilke, 2014

TCR Asia Series Lap record: 

1:45.040 - Race (M. Sathienthirakul Craft Bamboo Seat Leon TCR, October 2015)

1:45.081 - Qualifying (M. Sathienthirakul Craft Bamboo Seat Leon TCR, October 2015) 

 

Website: www.asia.tcr-series.com

Support classes: TCR Asia Series, Clio Cup Asia, Asian Formula Renault

 

Chang International Circuit at Buriram - east of the Thailand’s capital Bangkok - played host to the final round of the 2015 TCR Asia Series. The venue was both popular with teams and fans alike, with a record crowd attending the circuit on the Sunday to watch the TCR Asia Series drivers compete against the TCR International Series regulars. In the end local heroes Tin Sritrai and Munkong Sathienthirakul took a win apiece in TCR Asia after mixing it with the international stars inside the top ten.

 

2015 - Rnd#5 (14-laps)

Pole position: Munkong Sathienthirakul (Craft Bamboo Seat Leon TCR) - 1:45.081

1. Munkong Sathienthirakul (Craft Bamboo Seat Leon TCR)

2. Tin Sritrai (Asia Racing Team Seat Leon TCR)

3. Kevin Pu (Asia Racing Team Seat Leon TCR)

 

2015 - Rnd#6 (14-laps)

1. Tin Sritrai (Asia Racing Team Seat Leon TCR)

2. Munkong Sathienthirakul (Craft Bamboo Seat Leon TCR)

3. Kevin Pu (Asia Racing Team Seat Leon TCR)

 

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Schedule (ICT - GMT +7)

 

08:30 - Official Testing #1 (30-minutes)

12:30 - Official Testing #2 (30-minutes)

15:10 - Official Testing #3 (30-minutes)

 

08:30 - Practice #1 (30-minutes)

11:55 - Practice #2 (30-minutes)

17:25 - Qualifying #1 (20-minutes)

17:50 - Qualifying #2 (10-minutes)

 

10:05 - Race#1 (15-laps)

15:40 - Race#2 (15-laps)

 

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Driver’s Championship points (after two rounds of ten)


1. Tin Sritrai (42-points), 2. Roelof Bruins (41), 3. Andy Yan (39), 4. Henry Ho (25), 5. Kevin Tse (24), 6. Michael Ho (16), 6. Filipe de Souza (16), 8. Terrence Tse (8), 9. Bill O’Brien (0), 9. Yu Kam Cheong (0), 9. Douglas Khoo (0)

 

Amateur Driver’s Championship points (after two rounds of ten)


1. Kevin Tse (48), 2. Michael Ho (47), 3. Terrence Tse (33), 4. Yu Kam Cheong (20), 4. Douglas Khoo (20), 6. Bill O’Brien (18)

 

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Rnd#1/#2, 13-15 May - Korea International Circuit (South Korea)

Rnd#3/#4, 10-12 June - Buriram International Circuit (Thailand)

Rnd#5/#6, 19-21 August - Shanghai International Circuit (China)

Rnd#7/#8, 21-23 October - Zhejiang Circuit (China)

Rnd#9/#10, 18-20 November - Guia Street Circuit (Macau)*