Triple header at stake as Thailand Super Series makes swift return to Sepang

This weekend will have extra impact too as it will comprise a “triple header” format with races on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

That’s because the last round was hit by weather conditions that forced the postponement of the final race of that weekend which has been rolled over into this round and will be held on Friday. All the races will run to the usual 1-hour format with mid race pitstops for driver and tyre changes.

The season also edges into its second half this weekend with five races already completed and five to go. With three of those races coming over just 72 hours, it’s going to be vital for drivers and teams to score big in every race and the destiny of the titles could well be looming into view by the time the teams return home this Sunday evening.

Right now, it’s very tight in the standings and we start at the top of the tree with Super Car GT3. It’s a real statement of the close, exciting racing that TSS dishes up that the top three crews are currently separated by just six points with further crews in a position to bridge the gap to the top trio.

Leading the standings are former champions Piti Bhirombhakdi and Kantasak Kusiri in the #12 Singha Motorsport Team Thailand Honda NSX GT3. Back after a hiatus they stated their intentions clearly with a win in the first race of the year and have picked up points in every other race to rest on 74 points.

Behind them are two crews both equal on 68 points, the #91 AAI Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 of Chun Hua Chen and Jesse Krohn and the #37 Winhere by B-Quik Absolute Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II of Deng Yi and Sandy Stuvik.

The former is the only car to have taken two wins this year, the second of those coming in the previous round, held here last month. That helped Chen and Krohn bounce back after a tough Bangsaen for the Taiwanese team which netted them zero points and it puts them back into the fight at the front. Pace and momentum seem to be with this duo and they will be looking to walk away from this weekend at the top of the standings.

Yi and Stuvik also have a win to their name this year and have consistently scored points in every race so far.

A brand-new partnership this year, they are coming right into top form. With Yi now settled in the team in what is his first season racing outside China and the pairing very clearly gelling, they have ambitions for the title and a relentless focus. Stuvik is a former three times Super Car GT3 champion, so clearly, he can get the job done and really wants a fourth title.

Just shy of the top trio is the second Singha Motorsports Team Thailand Honda, the #89, shared by Voravud Bhirombhakdi and Carlo Van Dam. They haven’t bagged a win yet this year but have been superbly consistent and will want to get off the mark and close the gap down.

B-Quik Absolute Racing has juggled its driver line ups for this year and put Vincent Lin and Huang Ruohan together in the #25 Audi, reprising the tail end of last season when this pairing debuted with great results in the series. Both are very quick, can pull out surprises and unquestionably will be looking for wins this weekend as well as eyeing up the top step in GT3 AM.

The team has also paired up Henk Kiks and Markus Winkelhock together in the #27 Audi and that’s a line-up that can get the job done, while there will be a fifth Audi from this stable this weekend as Malaysian drivers Haziq Oh and Aaron Lim will drive the #5 HZO Fortis Racing Team by Absolute Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II.

Haziq Oh is currently leading his class standings in Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia and he will be teamed up with Aaron Lim, a well-known local driver.

Also, from B-Quik Absolute and looking for nothing less than wins will be the #62 Audi shared by Akash Nandy and Eshan Pieris, two of the fastest young drivers in Asia today.

Nandy, for whom this is his ‘home’ race, comes off the back of a sensational overall win in the last round of Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia at Okayama a couple of weeks ago while Pieris was on the class podium in the same race.

They missed Bangsaen due to clashing commitments so are playing catch up in terms of points. They need to score big in all three races to haul themselves back into contention – don’t put that past them, you write off this duo at your peril.

Another ‘local’ driver is Douglas Khoo in the Viper Niza Racing Mercedes AMG GT3. The team swapped cars for this season after running an Aston Martin last year and have been steadily extracting more pace from the German car, scoring points in every race. Khoo will be looking to be on the podium this weekend and has his eyes on bridging the gap to the top of the GT3 AM standings.

Finally, there is a real wildcard in the mix, as EBM will enter the new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO for Earl Bamber and Anderson Tanoto. Bamber is a two times Le Mans 24 Hours winner and needs little introduction while Tanoto is experienced, tough and fast. They certainly haven’t lodged an entry to make up the numbers!

In Super Car GTM the title fight is shaping up into a ding dong battle between veteran driver Nattavude Charoensukhawatana in the Lexus RC F and the Ferrari 488 Challenge EVO shared by Kittipol Pramoj Na Ayudhya and Supakit Jenjitranun. The two crews are separated by just 5.5 points and as they are all so closely matched in terms of pace and talent this could go all the way to the wire.

Not out of it by any means though are Saravut Sereethoranakul and Afiq Yazid (Lamborghini) who bagged their first win last time out here and the Thai-Malaysian crew will need more wins this weekend if they are to bridge the widening gap to the top.

In Super Car GT4 a relentless focus has seen Prakun Phomprapha and Warren Adulayavichitr, in the #95 2W Zoomies Cayman, edge to the top of the standings, cool, calm and collected they are totting up the points but are still shy of a first win.

That focus sees them top of the standings although they are just a single point clear of AAS’s Kantasak Kusiri who has seen his title ambitions setback by a costly DNF. Third, and just 6.5 points off the top, are Peter Hackett and Hayden Haikal (Mercedes AMG GT4), the only crew in GT4 to bag two wins so far, but those victories are counter balanced by two DNFs, while just two points further back are the Dutch duo Henk Kiks and Erwin de Smit (Porsche Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport). However, the former has swapped into GT3 category for this weekend and that means the team has elevated Sathaporn Veerachue to support de Smits title ambitions.

All in all, it's incredibly close in GT4 with all those crews mentioned covered by less that 10 points!

Finally, Super Car GTC returns to the programme after missing the last round as this category has a 4 round/8 race championship format. It’s the usual diverse bag in Super Car’s ‘entry level’ category with Toyota Supras, Ford Mustangs, Lamborghini Gallardos, Nissan GT-R R35s and much more on the entry list.

Three days of race action coming up, three explosive and intense days that could really reshape the title races, it’s not to be missed!