Rounds five and six of the Porsche Cayman GT4 Trophy Thailand saw AAS Motorsport’s #2 driver, Kmik Karnasuta, and JWD Unixx Racing Team’s #9 entry, Charvanin Bunditkitsada, take a win apiece at the Bangsaen Street Circuit.
After going quickest in qualifying for the Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport runners, Sepang double-winner Bunditkitsada was rarely troubled from behind in race one, leading from start-to-finish to claim his third victory of the season.
Going from second on the race one grid, Karnasuta kept his rival honest in the opening stages, but was unable to pose a real threat and had to settle for second place. His AAS Motorsport team-mate Pasu Liptapanlop added to his podium finish last time out with a third-place result on board the #46 Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport.
Morseng Racing Team’s #14 entrant, Tosaphol Phamyai, who had started ahead of Liptapanlop in the weekend’s opening race, dropped back to fourth on lap one and remained there until the end.
Sunday’s race was shortened to just seven laps after an early multi-car incident around the tight street circuit brought out the red flag.
Once racing got back underway, Bunditkitsada – who received damage in the earlier incident – led the way once again. However, Saturday’s winner was hit by a GTC car and Karnasuta jumped into the lead, before the session was prematurely stopped.
The championship leader was classified in first, with Bunditkitsada second. Liptapanlop took home another podium finish in third, as Phamyai rounded out the Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport field in fourth.
Also in action were four Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (Type 991) cars in the GTM class. B-Quik Racing Team’s #11 machine of Jeffrey Chiang and Will Bamber started second for race one, but were able to jump into the lead during the mandatory driver change, which was later than usual due to a safety car period.
The #72 car, also fielded by B-Quik Racing Team for Alif Hamdan, started from fourth, but was able to gain places during the pit stop. The Malaysian moved into second, before passing his team-mate for the lead late on, which he held until the finish.
TR Motorsport Racing Team’s #29 challenger, driven by Thomas Raldorf and Franz Engstler, made it an all Porsche 911 GT3 Cup podium, with est Cola PTT Racing Team’s Tanart and Munkong Sathienthirakul guiding their #15 car to seventh.
In race two, just five cars completed the distance, with Raldorf and Engstler holding onto second ahead of race one winner Hamdan, as Chiang and Bamber finished just outside the podium places in fourth place.
In the GTM Plus class for GT3 specification cars, B-Quik Racing Team’s Henk J. Kiks and Peter Kox started 10th on the race one grid, with both drivers showing impressive pace to weave their #26 Porsche 911 GT3 R (Type 997) through to fifth at the finish.
Unfortunately, they were forced to retire from Sunday’s race after hitting a barrier and suffering significant damage.
B-Quik Racing Team driver Ian Geekie was also in action again in the GTC class, with the Australian scoring two hard fought second-place finishes on board his #18 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (Type 997).
Finally, in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia series, Team Formax’s #1 driver Chris van der Drift took victory in the first race, with Team StarChase’s #99 entry Philip Hamprecht holding off the New Zealander to take the win on Sunday.
In the Pro-Am class, OpenRoad Racing’s Francis Tjia clinched a lights-to-flag victory after a tense battle with Zheng Tong Auto’s Bao Jinlong in race one. On Sunday though it was Bao who held off Tjia to take victory on the streets of Bangsaen.
Alongside the racing was a demonstration of the Porsche 919 Tribute car, with six-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner and Formula 1 legend Jacky Ickx, and 2017 FIA World Endurance Champion Earl Bamber, who was the Porsche China Junior driver coach in Thailand and has his own team in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia, both making an appearance.
Alexandre Gibot, Head of Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific, said: “It was great to see some good racing and strong performances by the Porsche GT4 Trophy Thailand drivers again in Bangsaen. Congratulations to AAS Motorsport and JWD Unixx Racing Team, with their drivers Karnasuta and Bunditkitsada both taking fantastic victories. It was a shame that incidents during the weekend meant we weren’t able to see a full race on either day, but when you compete at an unforgiving track like this then incidents are almost always going to happen.
“Elsewhere in the various Thailand Super Series categories, it was great to have three Porsche 911 GT3 Cup crews occupying the podium places in the GTM class. It was a stunning performance, with an excellent strategy call by all of the teams. The B-Quik Racing Team in particular had a successful weekend across the classes they were involved in and we wish them, as well as the other Porsche teams, further success throughout the season.
“We also had the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia in action, which provided some of the closest battles throughout the event. It’s our second time racing here and we were very happy to return to this fantastic venue. Congratulations to Chris van der Drift and Philip Hamprecht, who are both very talented and deserved winners. We look forward to the next one at the Sydney Motorsport Park at the beginning of August.”
The next round of the Thailand Super Series will be at the Bira International Circuit in Pattaya (31 August – 2 September).
