The Thai motor sports season wraps up with one final event, XO Autosport sponsored Time Attack, which takes place at Bira, the home of the country's circuit racing. A week after the Thai Super Car series wraps up with the five-day street racing extravaganza at Bangsaen just up the coastline from Pattaya and Bira, a smattering of cars from this championship as well as the Pattaya Pro Racing Series will take to the 2.41 km track at intervals for a showdown against the clock and finally against each other. Like the Pattaya Pro Racing Series, Time Attack is also promoted by GPI Motorsport.
Time Attack is taking place over two days, Saturday and Sunday, but due to other commitments I can only make it on Saturday which seems to be very much the warm-up day with practice and qualifying runs before the main race action takes place on Sunday. There isnt a whole lot happening on the track with a handful runners making sporadic appearances for around four to five laps. There are 10 classes listed, starting with Under 1500 FWD and running through under 1600cc/2000cc and over 2000cc, all split into front-or-rear-wheel-drive categories and in the case of over-2000cc, there is an all-wheel-drive class. Finally there is the Open Silhouette category where pretty much anything goes, engines can be up to 6-cylinders, there is no minimum weight limit, spaceframe or monocoque chassis are accepted, and tyres are free (slicks are used, whereas the other classes must use grooved rubber). Minimum weights in the classes run from 900 kgs in the Under-1500 FWD/RWD class to 1200 kgs in Over-2000 AWD, engines can be swapped around, maximum allowed wheels run from 17-inch for the smallest classes up to 19-inches, with the Open Silhouette being free. The qualifying on Saturday demands minimum laps times to make it through to the main races with a cut-off of 1:15 for the Under-1500 runners dropping in increments to a chop of 1:05 for the Open Silhouette cars. Top-5 in classes would go through to the knock-out races.
The shoot out, which was looking to set new Thai records across the classes was headlined by the Thai Super Cars which were bunched into the Open Silhouette category and four were in the paddock on Saturday. Their numbers would be depleted anyway as a number are concurrently on-show at the Bangkok Motor Expo 2009 in Impact Muang Thong Thani, but lurking in the pit garages is one of the red-and-silver Team Arto Toyota Altis racers, the #39 car driven by Nattavude, the blue #11 Subaru Impreza of Aekarat, which recorded a couple of tidy results at Bangsaen, and the rather wild looking #29 Impreza in the red-and-white colours of The Pizza Company that Danish driver Thomas Radstrom piloted to a solid fifth place in the second and final Thai Super Car encounter at Bangsaen making up for an early retirement in the first race. Also in the garages is the #11 orange-and-dark-gray Mazda of Thai acting idol Pete, but this car doesn't turn a wheel during Saturday afternoon.
Radstrom the the first of the Super Car runners to hit the track and this lurid machine screams through its series of laps. The blue Impreza and the Team Arto Altis both hit the track at the same time albeit running with a 20 second or so gap. Some times are posted by mid afternoon, in the Under-1500 FWD/RWD class Barawis Sawawa posts the quickest time in 1:12.070, three tenths ahead of Arnon Rodpraser (1:12.383); this pair are more than a second clear of the next runner. Radstrom is listed in the Over-2000 AWD class and he posts the best time (1:04.301) a second clear of the pretty red #95 Mitsubishi Evo of Rukpong Sanguanphan 1:05.432, the Dane turning in 8 laps to Rukpong's six. Aekparat Petcharak is the fastest in Under 2000 FWD/RWD with a 1:07.676 while Passalit Pomson is the only driver posted in the Under 1600 FWD/FWD class with a 1:09.570. Its a pretty quiet day really, but as we leave the all-conquering black-and-gold Singha-sponsored Porsche 911, just driven to this years Thai Super Car title a week ago is arriving slung on the back of a recovery truck, so it promised to crank up a gear on Sunday.
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IMPREZA MEETINGby itakichi319,638 views
wow (^~^<)
MarkMasters83 10 months ago
@MOODYSCOOBY
i think Mitsusport team doing something with transmision
TokuMR 1 year ago
stop at 0:39 they got a engine out wearing sandles lol
MOODYSCOOBY 1 year ago
currently doing 1:16.1 on Nitto semi slick, with a stock civic LSD and clutch.
Going to time attack the circuit end of this month with Michellin slicks and new LSD as well as uprated racing clutch. I need to post a time less than 1:14.0 to be competitive in super 1500 open class group c.
golferchin76 1 year ago
Very nice!
gargabor 1 year ago
Just a follow up. I improved my lap time on current set up to 1:17:8, one more second to fight!
golferchin76 2 years ago
I started lapping Bira 2 years ago on liter bikes. Ended up crushing several times and hospitalized. Was in the mood to give up motorsport. Now with 4 wheels I found a new hobby that's so exciting. Bira is a very technical track as you know. Fast downhill right hand turn follow by a blind hill climb that leads to the hair pin. After that is a Thai so-called 100R which is a high speed double apex high speed curve that requires skill and gut. and another blind hill climb before 2 chicane.Wow!!!
golferchin76 2 years ago
Great video. Do you race? This year will be my first year racing. I will be racing the super 1500 open series on a EG hatch. My lap time still sucks! And recently just blew an engine. With street tires and unmodified D15B (All other things race spec) my best lap time is 1:19.8 !?!. I have 2-3 more months to go to save 2-3 secs on current set up. My friend, Hong, championed in 1500 production and other race series, post 1:16.6 in the same car! He's coaching me on lots of things.
golferchin76 2 years ago