B-Quik Juniors head for Bira, the "home" of Thai motorsport 24.09.2019: This coming weekend will see the fourth round of Thailand Super Series (TSS) 2019 taking place at Pattaya’s Bira International Circuit and B-Quik Racing will be in the thick of the competitive track action – but time our focus shifts onto the B-Quik Junio

This coming weekend will see the fourth round of Thailand Super Series (TSS) 2019 taking place at Pattaya’s Bira International Circuit and B-Quik Racing will be in the thick of the competitive track action – but time our focus shifts onto the B-Quik Junior Programme.
 


Following a highly successful showing for the team at the Bangsaen Grand Prix, just three over weeks ago, where we won both the headlining Super Car GT3 races to cement our lead in the Drivers’ and teams’ championships, on this occasion our brace of Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo racecars and their quartet of drivers – Henk Kiks, Daniel Bilski, Sandy Stuvik and Martin Rump – will be on the sidelines.
 


That’s because the coming round is focused on the support series that make up the bumper TSS programme as the other categories enjoy their day in the sun. Bira Circuit, the much loved historic “home of Thai motorsport” is now simply to small and confined for the big GT3 cars to race there anymore.
 


B-Quik will be taking part with three cars and four young drivers, all forming part of our “Junior Programme” which comprises of drivers that are selected from within the B-Quik company. The programme is open to all technical staff who can apply and via an exhaustive election process the numbers are whittled down to a final four who then have the opportunity to race.
 


There are currently two tiers to the programme and both will be racing at Bira Circuit.
 


“Tier 1” comprises of our Dodge Challenger in TA2 Thailand while “Tier 2” are the brace of Honda Brios we enter in Super Eco. In the former, Narin Naeosathon and Sathaporn Veerachue, will share the big American-built V8-engined spaceframe racecar over the 1-hour races and after a pretty tough weekend in Bangsaen they will be looking to bounce back and unlock its potential on this tight and twisty track which will really challenge the TA2 cars.
 


Narin drove our TA2 car here last year so he has useful experience to call upon; however Sathaporn, who came into the TA2 programme this year, has previously tested here and so he won’t be starting too far behind the curve. Points and podiums will be the target and to get back on track after the last round yielded scant rewards.
 


Meanwhile, the two “Tier 1” drivers in action, Adisak Tangphuncharoen and Pongtanu Kamsai, will be making their second visit here to race in Super Eco having contested the 2018 rounds while the former has extra track time to call upon having raced our Toyota Vios here in the RAAT Thailand Endurance Championship last year. Just like the drivers in TA2 the objective will be to take home trophies and progress their learning curve.
 



The TSS programme officially starts on Friday (27 Sep) with free practice followed by the end-of-afternoon qualifying sessions for Super Eco and TA2 Thailand before moving into a weekend of races.
 



On Saturday (28 Sep) Super Eco will be first up for us at 1540 for a 17-lap race before the grunting beasts of TA2 Thailand go to green lights at 1640 for a 1-hour encounter. The final day, Sunday, (29 Sep) this time sees TA2 Thailand starting its second and final 1-hour race of the weekend at the stroke of midday and it will be followed by Super Eco at 1320, which just like the previous day, will be contested over 17-laps.
 




B-Quik Racing is supported by B-Quik, Michelin, Mobil 1, Bendix, Yuasa, NGK, Liqui Moly and STI and WAC Car Detailing.
 


Narin Naeosathon (#26 Dodge Challenger, TA2 Thailand): “We're returning to 'home' of Thai motorsport this week. Although I have experience here last year in the Camaro, this year is very different that we change to the Dodge Challenger and of course we need a lot of skill to drive on this narrow and winding racetrack and extract the most from the car. I'll try my best and I hope to collect more points here.”
 


Sathaporn Veerachue (#26 Dodge Challenger, TA2 Thailand): “I'm excited to return to Bira. After the incidents in Bangsaen we never give up. We’ve repaired the Dodge and we’re ready for upcoming race. The Bira racetrack is very tight and twisty and very challenging for the big and powerful TA2 cars. This race will be fun for sure!”
 



Adisak Tangphuncharoen (#26 Honda Brio, Super Eco): “I'm very happy to back in the cockpit of the Brio again. I have had experience here last year in the RAAT Endurance race in the Vios and also driving the Brio so I hope this coming weekend will be an opportunity to get on the podiums.”
 


Pongtanu Kamsai (#25 Honda Brio, Super Eco): “I'm really looking forward to upcoming Super Eco race at Bira Circuit. This will be the second time for me to race at Bira as I was also here with Thailand Super Series for the same event last year. Certainly, I’m hoping to get good results and I will try to do the best to get on the podiums.”






     

- Edd Ellison, photos B-Quick