B-Quik Racing Co. Ltd. TM (“B-Quik) is ready for the second round of Thailand Super Series (“TSS”) 2018 this coming weekend in Buriram where we will field our biggest and most ambitious line-up yet as we will be target the podium across five different categories.
Namely, those categories are Super Car GTM Plus, Super Car GTM, Super Car GTC, TA2 Thailand and Super Eco, while in a sign of the growing internationalisation of the team we will enter drivers from Thailand (2), Netherlands (2), Australia (2), Switzerland (1), Malaysia (1), Taiwan (1) and New Zealand (1).
In Super Car GTM Plus we will double our entry for the trip to Chang International Circuit as we debut our newest acquisition, a Porsche 997 GT3-R, having run a single Audi R8 Ultra GT3 in the top class during the season opener last month. Henk J. Kiks will swap over to this new car, having shared the Audi during its debut at Sepang – and we’re delighted that he will be joined by Peter Kox who returns to the team.
A factory Acura driver, Peter joined us for the Sepang 12 Hours in 2015 and 2016, helping us finish to the podium both times, the second-year culminating in victory. Single minded in the pursuit of excellence in all areas, he will give our driver roster a huge boost and it’s perfect timing as we have to get up to speed with the new Porsche quickly and the whole team is excited that he will re-join us – while it will also make it an “all Dutch” line up in the #26 entry.
Taking Henk’s place alongside Daniel Bilski in the #27 Audi, we’re very pleased that Audi Sport has made Rahel Frey available for this race and the proven fast Swiss racer brings a wealth of experience of the Audi R8 Ultra GT3 with her and should be on the pace from the off. She will also make history next weekend as the first lady driver to race in Super Car.
In Super Car GTM Alif Hamdan will be back for a second event in the #72 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup and after his winning pace didn’t translate into victories in Sepang through no fault of his own, we hope the Malaysian will be able to pull in the points this weekend. Alif has some experience of the Buriram circuit to call upon as he raced there in Porsche Carrera Cup Asia (PCCA) three years ago.
We will have a second new entry in Super Car GTM, a Porsche 991 GT3 Cup for Will Bamber and Jeffrey Chiang. Will has joined the team this year in a driver coaching capacity but now slips into the ‘hot seat’ while Jeffrey is a highly experienced Porsche racer as a long-time competitor in PCCA so he should bed in very smoothly. This entry has been put together with assistance of Earl Bamber Motorsport.
In Super Car GTC Ian Geekie is back in the Porsche 997 GT3 Cup he drove in Sepang and we expect him to be targeting the podium steps again following a well-judged double trip to the rostrum during the opener.
Finally, our young drivers will also be in action at Chang International Circuit and Narin Naeosathon will enjoy his second race in TA2 Thailand behind the wheel of the big Camaro TA2 on a track he already knows while we are pleased to welcome two of the finalists from our recent “Young Driver Selection Programme 2018”, Adisak Tangphuncharoen and Pongtanu Kamsai, to the team. They will race our brace of Honda Brios in Super Eco this year. This will be their first ever time racing, so they have a very steep learning curve ahead of them this coming weekend.
B-Quik Co. Ltd. TM (“B-Quik”), Thailand’s premier automotive servicing chain with 146 service centers nationwide, is the Title Sponsor of B-Quik Racing. We are being supported in 2018 by Michelin, Mobil 1, Bendix, Yuasa, NGK, Liqui Moly and Silver Tire International.
Henk J. Kiks: “I’m pretty excited for Buriram needless to say. We had been eyeing up a 997 GT3-R for some time so I’m looking forward to debuting this car. To have Peter back in the team is great, he was with us when we won the Sepang 12 Hours and he brings so much to the team. Having him along for Buriram will be just perfect when we have a lot to achieve as he provides a perfect benchmark for everyone to work off. We have an expanded operation both in terms of the cars we will be running and in our garage operation so this week is going to see a lot of hard work as we have to raise our game once again and keep pushing and pushing, I certainly think there aren’t going to be any quiet moments.”
Daniel Bilski: “After the excitement of last weeks’ announcement, I can’t wait to proudly display the Audi R8 LMS Cup branding on our car in Buriram. The practice sessions will be busy for both the team and drivers. As is always the case with a new driver pairing, you have to get used to working with a new partner – and in Rahel’s case, a whole new team – set up the car, practice change overs and work on overall driving and race strategy. There’s a lot to do before qualifying on Friday but I am massively looking forward to it. Having the opportunity to work with a driver of Rahel’s calibre is enormously exciting and you can be sure that we will be gunning for race wins this weekend.”
Peter Kox: “I am delighted to return to B-Quik as we were successful in the two Sepang 12 Hours that we did together, finishing two times on the podium, but even more so to meet the team again! The boys at B-Quik are so motivated and active that it’s a pleasure for me to get the maximum out of myself and to reward them with the best result possible. Together with Henk I look forward to the race at Buriram in Thailand Super Series.”
Ian Geekie: “It seems a long time ago that we were in Sepang for Round 1 and I’m really looking forward to getting back in the car for Round 2 at Buriram. This will be my second trip to the Chang International Circuit and hopefully I can apply that knowledge to good effect. Sepang provided a double podium and showed we are competitive but the competition is fierce and we will have to bring our A game to maintain the momentum. I am sure B-Quik will provide a good car and I am looking forward to taking on the challenging circuit.”
Alif Hamdan: “Very happy to get to continue on to next round in Buriram with B Quik again. I’m looking forward to getting back into the #72 car which has a paddle shifter upgrade that I’m excited to try. I have raced in Buriram before in 2015 with Porsche Carrera Cup Asia so it will be great to go back to a wonderful circuit.”
Narin Naeosathon: “I have to prepare more and improve my driving for the upcoming races. I’ve experience on this circuit when I drove the Brio but there are a lot more things I have to learn about Camaro. I’m pretty concerned about the weather in Buriram but hopefully the weather this weekend will be fine and I can get good results.”
Will Bamber: “I’m stoked to finally put this together and race with my friends at B-Quik. Coaching and now driving for the team is perfect and a nice extension from their generous support in PCCA. Also, to link my brothers team here in Thailand is great. I’m just happy to be here, I love the racing scene here so competing will be even better.”
Jeffrey Chiang: “I am thrilled to join Thailand Super Series for my first time and compete with B-Quik and Earl Bamber Motor Sport. To add TSS to our PCCA programme is perfect especially with tricky Bangsaen coming up in July!”
