‘Opening an exciting new chapter’ can be something of an overused cliché at times, but over the last few days in Bangsaen the opening up of the ‘second chapter’ of the Grand Prix with the start of its second decade and 11th edition simply couldn’t have been any more appropriate.
That leap into the future started early on Tuesday morning with an FIA inspection that resulted in the awarding of FIA Grade 3 homologation and confers this globally recognised safety standard onto the Bangsaen Street Circuit for the first time. It will be a huge boost to the event going forward and underpinned by that robust platform expect the Bangsaen Grand Prix to grow rapidly in stature and reach.
That push for international status in fact gets underway this morning when the drivers and cars of Porsche Carrera Cup Asia and TCR Asia Series take to the track for their first practice sessions, bringing two major series to Bangsaen for the first time ever.
But over the last few days these cars have remained in their garages being fettled and readied – their time is about to come – and on the track it has been all about Thailand Super Series (TSS) with every category being immersed in qualifying action.
In Super Car GTM Plus Narasak Ittritpong has picked up where he left off in Buriram in April and he will start the first of the three races this weekend from pole – and in the process he became the fastest man to ever lap Bangsaen, smashing away the honour held by Darryl O’Young.
One notch down in Super Car GTM Kantadhee Kusiri posted a stunning qualifying lap to bang his Porsche onto pole position in no uncertain terms, his first Super Car pole, and an equally impressive lap came from Pitsanu Sirimongkolkasem who was next up.
Thomas Raldorf was out on his own at the front in yesterday’s Super Car GTC qualifying session and he’s looking to make up for his disappointment in Buriram when he had both races in the bag before the wins slipped away.
And so it continued right down the field as qualifying times shattered in the dry heat. Super 2000, Thailand Touring Car, Super Pickup, Super Compact, Super Production and Super Eco all provided their own thrills and set the stage for a long weekend of on track excitement that gets underway early this morning.
Finally, one more variable came into play during the early hours of this morning – the weather. It’s been hot and dry all week, but a storm moved through Bangsaen in the early hours and the ground is still damp this morning. Will rain return over the next three days to make the action even more dramatic? The forecasts reckon the chance is high – only time will tell.