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Bira first-timer Alang wins round 7 while Nathapong takes round 8 win

It was an action packed first race for the Asian Touring Car Super 1500Max Challenge at Bira Circuit where Faidzil Alang took the win with a fantastic on the limit overtaking manoeuvre on the second last lap.

“It was a great race and a great car. The Proton Axle Racing Team did a great job and made it easy for me to drive on this new track. I’m still learning the circuit so half of the race I couldn’t get the pace but I knew I had some good lap times. I was lucky that the lead car got caught with the backmarkers, so I took advantage with only two laps remaining” said a smiling Alang.

25 cars took to the grid in the Series’ first ever visit to the circuit famed for its touring car races. Hung-Hsu Chen started in pole with local driver, Pisanu Sririmongkolkaseam taking to the grid alongside him in second. All cars got off of the line well for the incident filled race on a hot Saturday afternoon.

Alang, who started the race in third, was still getting acquainted with the track on his first visit to the 2.4km circuit in Pattaya, Thailand. He was overtaken by Natthapong Patthamapong into the second last turn of the opening lap but quickly regained third at turn one of the next lap.

Then it was a game of catch up for Alang, with the two leading cars and by lap 12, he caught up to Sririmongkolkaseam and made his move at the second last turn. Alang took the inside of the right hander and edged out Sririmongkolkaseam to move in to second.

“From the first to the twelfth lap I was very consistent throughout, but towards the end of the race my pace dropped. Maybe I was too tired, I don’t know but I think that gave Faidzil a chance to overtake me at the Honda corner.

As for Hung, from the start he was fast, I just couldn’t catch up to him and I do want to congratulate him on a job well done today” said Sririmongkolkaseam at the post race press conference.

Alang then picked up his pace further and caught up to Hung on the next lap when Hung was caught in between back markers. Hung took the outside line to avoid a backmarker when Alang took the cleaner inside line of the third last turn to take the lead from Hung.

“I was just overtaken by Faidzil. The whole day I did really well but he has very good skills and I just can’t deny his win” said Hung.

There were two great three way battles in the mid pack, with drivers changing positions up and down the grid. But the notable battles were between Tony Percy, Thamrong Nitipon and Suppawut Poldok and also between Suttiluck Boonsarean, Syafiq Ali and Paul Kenny.

Round 8 was an even more action filled race when home grown hero, Nathapong took the chequered flag at the end of the 20-lap race. Right from the start, almost all drivers got into turns one and two, three abreast all the way down the 24-car grid.

It was a great race for the Thai fans as the podium was filled with Thai drivers. Thanapol Ch took the win ahead of Suttchiluk B and Nathapong L, when he finished the 17-lap race with a total time of 21:04.868.

Amarin N had a brilliant start, he led the race lead for 12 laps while fending off the charges of Thanapol. Thanapol started the race in third and was quickly pushing Amarin for the remainder of the race until lap 13 when Amarin, who looked to have engines troubles, slowed down and flagged him past.

“It was a good race. There were a lot of cars going into the first few turns but overall the track conditions were good and it feels good to win. Everyone who raced today were really good but I was lucky to be able to get a chance to overtake. It was good racing and I am lucky to have won” said Thanapol.

Second place went to Suttchiluk B who started the race in sixth. He dropped down the grid to fifth early in the race before playing catch up with the leading pack and was in third by lap 11. Then, when troubles brewed for Amarin, Suttchiluk gained another position, which he kept to the end.

“I was really lucky today. The car feels perfect and I just kept my pace to get this great result. I could not have gotten such a great result if it wasn’t for my great team and all their hard work for giving me this perfect car. They took care of everything for me”.

Nathapong L had a great climb up the ranks, from his eleventh position at the start to fourth by lap 6. Nathapong was another benefactor from Amarin’s woes, claiming third by lap 15 a position which he held to the end of the race.

“Everything went really smoothly. The track conditions were really good, which is one of the reasons why I could do what I did today to get this podium finish. It was not easy to overtake the cars but when the lead car had problems and started to drop down the grid, it left me with a chance to overtake and maintain until the chequered flag”.

A total of seven drivers did not finish the race while one did not start.

The Series will return to Bira for rounds 9 & 10 on Sunday, 18 August with round 9 being held at 10.40am and round 10 at 1.10pm.

Published: 2008-08-16 00:00:00

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