B-Quik Racing Co. Ltd. TM (“B-Quik Racing”) has enjoyed a productive week at the seaside during the 12th edition of the Bangsaen Grand Prix with wins and podiums coming our way. In fact, most of the drivers on our bumper entry that was spread across six categories took a trip to the podium over the three ‘race days’.
The team pitched up in Bangsaen’s iconic beachfront paddock early last week for the third round of Thailand Super Series (“TSS”) 2018 with ten cars that included a few tweaks and additions to our driver and car line-ups.
In Super Car GTM we had a terrific weekend with our two Porsche 991 GT3 Cup entries, the #72 driven by Alif Hamdan and the #11 shared by Will Bamber and Jeffrey Chiang.
Alif, who was switching up to a 991 Cup from the 997 Cup he drove during the opening two rounds of the year, was the only driver in the category to double stint during the 1-hour races that were held to the arduous backdrop of a very typical hot and dry Bangsaen weekend.
He drove out of his skin in Race 1 to capitalise on the many dramas that played out on track and win the race! That was our first Super Car victory of the year in the bag and the Malaysian’s first ever TSS win, coming at just his fifth attempt.
Will and Jeffrey did an equally superb job to bring the #11 car home in P2 to give us a fantastic 1-2 finish as well as the Teams’ trophy. Our first 1-2 in Super Car too, the records were falling!
In GTM’s Race 2 Alif raised his game even further and by the time the pitstops came around he had once again hustled his way into the race lead. As the laps counted out he retained his track position and managed his advantage to faster cars behind that were trying hard to reel him in.
However, during the closing minutes of the race he was caught out while lapping a slower car which moved the wrong way and he hit the barriers. There was plenty of damage to the #72 car but Alif did a great job to nurse it to the line and managed to only lose two positions in the process to finish P3.
Despite the loss of an almost certain win he enjoyed some good luck over the final laps to get the car home in P3 and adding that to his win in Race 1 it was a double podium for Alif and a superb way to wrap up his first visit to Bangsaen.
Will and Jeffrey also enjoyed a great race as their car survived a brush with the barriers and they followed Alif home to give us a 3-4 finish as well as the GTM Team’s trophy for the second consecutive day.
In Super Car GTM Plus it was something of a mixed bag and in Race 1 Henk J. Kiks and Peter Kox in the #26 Porsche battled their way up the order to finish P5 and grab the final podium step, the first for our newly acquired car on just its second race weekend, the “997 GT3-R” having debuted in Buriram last month.
In the #27 Audi R8 Ultra Daniel Bilski was joined by Adderly Fong thanks the extra support we have been receiving from Audi Sport and the pair looked really sharp and pacey in Race 1 as they mixed it up in the battle for the higher podium steps, despite the power steering system failing just before the race which meant they had to really haul the big car around this tight and twisty street course. Unfortunately, that steering issue grew to a point where they were forced to retire.
In Race 2, where this time it was the Australian who started, they were equally fast, but a technical issue caused a second DNF soon after Adderly had taken over. However, there were plenty of positives to take away as there was a big uptick in pace from the car and Daniel took another step up, driving with impressive skill.
In Super Car GTC there was a double podium for Ian Geekie on just his second visit here, which also banished a tough time during his debut on these streets last year. The highly experienced Australian had to steer clear of the carnage that unfolded in both the GTC races, which were combined with the TA2 Thailand and Cayman GT4 Cup Thailand categories, and he did that superbly to cap it off with P2 in Race 2.
In TA2 Thailand Narin Naeosathon enjoyed an excellent time in Race 1 to haul the #26 Camaro onto the podium in P4, his highest finish so far and on the first time he’s driven the big V8-engined spaceframe racecar around here. However, in Race 2 he had less luck, retiring the car after an incident on the first lap.
Our “Young Driver Programme” enjoyed an excellent weekend too and in Super Eco Adisak Tangphuncharoen and Pongtanu Kamsai were in Bangsaen for the first time and in fact this was just their third- and second-ever race weekend, respectively.
They both performed very well as they discovered the characteristics of this unique 3.7-km circuit and continued to improve their budding racing skills with the highlight being a well-deserved trip to the podium for Pongtanu in Race 1.
In the Toyota Vios meanwhile Jerasak Kongplab, in just his second outing in the car, made the podium in the Toyota Motorsport “Vios Cup” after finishing an impressive P2 in class.
And that was it for “Bangsaen 2018”. An excellent week for B-Quik Racing in Thai motorsport’s highest profile annual event and big congratulations to the organisers for their vision and in putting on and managing such an excellent event – and it remained dry the whole time to boot!
Now the team turns its attention to the second round of RAAT Endurance Championship Thailand where our young drivers will be in action again and that race comes up in just two weeks’ time.
Source. FastTrack Media
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