11/06/2016

Chang International Circuit, Buriram, Thailand

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

 

The TCR Asia Series returned to Chang International Circuit for the second event of the 2016 season, but whilst many of the teams are enjoying their second visit to Buriram, the conditions this time around are very different to what they had to face last October..

 

Through the three 30-minute official test sessions on Friday, ambient temperatures soared into the high 30s, with track temperatures in excess of 50 degrees in the middle of the day, whilst cabin comfort for the drivers exceeded 60 degrees.. It was hot!

 

On track the action matched the conditions, with the three sessions suggesting that we can expect another fantastic round of racing, hot on the heels of a brilliant season-opener in South Korea, although we will sadly be without Viper Niza Racing’s South Korean sensation Roelof Bruins who has been forced to withdraw due to outside commitments, but we have a more than worthy replacement to take up the challenge; Thailand’s Jack Lemvard..

 

An experienced campaigner in his home country, Lemvard made his TCR debut as part of TCR Thailand at Buriram three weeks ago, pushing GT star Carlo Van Dam all the way to the line in both races, the second of which saw him shadow the experienced Dutchman across the full race distance.. “I was so close to getting him too,” Lemvard reflected.

 

On top of the timesheets in session one, Lemvard’s Vattana Motorsport Seat Leon was forced to settle for the second spot in session two behind TCR Asia Series points leader Tim Sritrai, but the tables were turned once more in Lemvard’s favour in the final session.

 

“It’s funny, but conditions are a lot slower than they were here three weeks ago, but we’re pushing. It’s great battling with Tin, but we’ve got a little more in reserve, so we’ll see what qualifying brings..”

 

Sritrai too was happy with his performance, but he admitted that doing double-duty in the Singha Motorsport Ferrari 458 Challenge in GT Asia was forcing him to really think about his driving..

 

“It’s such a different car to drive to the Honda, but it’s enjoyable. I think we’ll be okay this weekend. I like Buriram, and it’s great to race in front of my ‘home’ crowd. Jack [Lemvard] is very fast, and I think we’ll have a great race, but my focus is the championship, that’s what is important.”

 

Third fastest was Liqui Moly team Engstler’s Andy Yan, the multiple China Touring Car champion closing the gap to the two Thai drivers across the day to finish just under three tenths slower than Sritrai, with team-mate Filipe de Souza a welcome fifth.

 

“Finally I’m starting to find a rhythm I like,” the Macanese driver said with his trademark wide smile.

 

Splitting the two Liqui Moly Volkswagen Golf GTi TCRs was the second of the Vattana Motorsport entries of Narasak Ittiritpong (Honda Civic TCR), with TeamWork Motorsport’s Kevin Tse also right in the mix.

 

Frustratingly for the team their second entry was suffering a niggling technical issue which tied Bill O’Brien up for much of the day.

 

“I sat in the car for 25-minutes in the final session as the team worked to sort the problem,” he explained. “It’s nothing dramatic and I’m sure overnight they’ll sort it, but it was like sitting in an oven in pit lane..!”

 

With testing over and done, it’s time to focus on the business end of the weekend, with Saturday providing two further 30-minute practice sessions ahead of qualifying late in the day. Sunday will then see two 15-lap races for teams to do battle, and based on testing, it’s going to be a battle to remember..

 

Every round of the 2016 TCR Asia Series is live-streamed, with coverage beginning ten minutes ahead of each scheduled race.

 

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 

 

Chang International Circuit, Buriram, Thailand (10 June)

Official Testing#1 (30-minutes)

1. Jack Lemvard (Vattana Motorsport Seat Leon TCR) - 1:46.376

2. Tin Sritrai (Team Thailand Honda Civic TCR) - 1:46.402

3. Andy Yan (Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) - 1:47.007


4. Narasak Ittiritpong (Vattana Motorsport Honda Civic TCR) - 1:47.263

5. Kevin Tse (TeamWork Motorsport Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) - 1:47.316

6. Henry Ho (Champ Motorsport Honda Civic TCR) - 1:47.513

7. Filipe de Souza (Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) - 1:47.645


8. Paritat Bulbon (Sloth Racing Seat Leon TCR) - 1:47.740

9. Nattachak Hanjitkasem (TBN MK ihere Racing Honda Civic TCR) - 1:48.505

10. Douglas Khoo (Viper Niza Racing  Seat Leon TCR) - 1:50.064

11. Bill O’Brien (TeamWork Motorsport Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) - 1:51.213


12. Terrence Tse (Roadstar Racing  Seat Leon TCR) - 1:51.521

13. Kenneth Ma (Roadstar Racing  Seat Leon TCR) - 1:53.837

14. Yu Kam Cheong (Roadstar Racing  Seat Leon TCR) - NTR

 

Official Practice#2 (30-minutes)

1. Tin Sritrai (Team Thailand Honda Civic TCR) - 1:45.896

2. Andy Yan (Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) - 1:46.640

3. Narasak Ittiritpong (Vattana Motorsport Honda Civic TCR) - 1:46.799

4. Jack Lemvard (Vattana Motorsport Seat Leon TCR) - 1:47.097

5. Kevin Tse (TeamWork Motorsport Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) - 1:47.932

6. Filipe de Souza (Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) - 1:47.957

7. Paritat Bulbon (Sloth Racing Seat Leon TCR) - 1:48.684

8. Nattachak Hanjitkasem (TBN MK ihere Racing Honda Civic TCR) - 1:49.236

9. Douglas Khoo (Viper Niza Racing  Seat Leon TCR) - 1:49.283

10. Terrence Tse (Roadstar Racing  Seat Leon TCR) - 1:50.847

11. Kenneth Ma (Roadstar Racing  Seat Leon TCR) - 1:52.561

12. Henry Ho (Champ Motorsport Honda Civic TCR) - NTR

13. Bill O’Brien (TeamWork Motorsport Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) - NTR

14. Yu Kam Cheong (Roadstar Racing  Seat Leon TCR) - NTR

 

Official Practice#3 (30-minutes)

1. Jack Lemvard (Vattana Motorsport Seat Leon TCR) - 1:45.561

2. Tin Sritrai (Team Thailand Honda Civic TCR) - 1:45.939

3. Andy Yan (Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) - 1:46.223

4. Narasak Ittiritpong (Vattana Motorsport Honda Civic TCR) - 1:46.563

5. Filipe de Souza (Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) - 1:46.624

6. Kevin Tse (TeamWork Motorsport Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) - 1:4746.643

7. Paritat Bulbon (Sloth Racing Seat Leon TCR) - 1:47.657

8. Nattachak Hanjitkasem (TBN MK ihere Racing Honda Civic TCR) - 1:47.963

9. Douglas Khoo (Viper Niza Racing  Seat Leon TCR) - 1:48.681

10. Terrence Tse (Roadstar Racing  Seat Leon TCR) - 1:50.464

11. Kenneth Ma (Roadstar Racing  Seat Leon TCR) - 1:51.237

12. Bill O’Brien (TeamWork Motorsport Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) - NTR

13. Henry Ho (Champ Motorsport Honda Civic TCR) - NTR

14. Yu Kam Cheong (Roadstar Racing  Seat Leon TCR) - NTR

 

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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: GT 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 - 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)*