Shanghai International Circuit, China

Rnd#5/5, 2016 GT Asia Series (19-21 August, 2016)

 

Liqui Moly Team Engstler’s Andy Yan used his vast experience at the venue he considers his ‘home’ circuit, to claim back-to-back wins at Shanghai, the Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR driver extending his winning streak to four straight races, and in the process, all but putting the championship out of reach for his rivals.

 

Frustratingly for Thailand’s Tin Sritrai, technical issues which sidelined the Team Thailand Honda at home in June, re-emerged giving one of the pre-season favourites a few anxious moments ahead of qualifying, but once sorted, the young Thai was unstoppable, claiming the fastest time in both sessions.

 

Ultimately Yan claimed back-to-back wins, whilst Sritrai suffered another setback in race two, allowing Kevin Tse to stand on the second step and move into P2 in the championship.

 

In the Amateur Cup, TeamWork Motorsport’s Kevin Tse claimed the top points once again to put himself well clear in the standings, whilst Liqui Moly Team Engstler grabbed more valuable teams championship points with Filipe de Souza claiming the bottom step of the podium in race two.

 

Tin Sritrai had completed just four laps of the Shanghai circuit ahead of qualifying, after suffering more technical issues with his Team Thailand Honda Civic TCR during both days of practice, practice which his rivals used to very good effect.

 

Friday’s three practice sessions saw the early pace set by the two Champ Motorsport Honda Civic TCRs of Henry Ho and Michael Ho before light rain began to fall during session two. Henry Ho again topped the times on Friday afternoon over his team-mate and the two Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagens of Andy Yan and Filipe de Souza.

 

Saturday morning saw much the same early before Tin Sritrai delivered a lap-time that had everyone pacing ahead of qualifying, an impressive 2:21.142, a tenth clear of Henry Ho and a full two seconds clear of Andy Yan who was third fastest!

 

The opening qualifier only added weight to the threat from the Team Thailand entry, Sritrai punching out an impressive 2:20.295, a full second clear of Michael Ho with his team-mate Henry Ho two tenths further back. An even bigger surprise was the pace of Andy Yan, only 2:22.661 and fifth place behind Kevin Tse, no-one expected that, although Q2 suggested that there may have been some strategy in that..

 

Very quickly Yan was on the money in the final 10-minute qualifying session, the Hong Kong driver immediately into the 2:20s then the 2:19s, but despite his relative lack of miles around Shanghai, Sritrai was up to the challenge punching out a 2:19.210 to claim the top spot from Yan in the dying stages - the margin of difference, just 85 one thousandths of a second..

 

Round#5 (12-laps)

Despite showing an immense ability to overcome the odds and battle against the might of a logistically far more experienced team and driving combination, Tin Sritrai had shown he was every bit the match for the points leading Volkswagen of Andy Yan, the one thing the multiple China Touring Car Champion had in his favour though, was experience, vast experience of the Shanghai circuit.

 

Off the line Sritrai grabbed the lead, but he was a touch offline heading into turn one, and with limited laps in his Honda Civic TCR and not 100% confident of the braking marker, he did exactly what Yan had been hoping for and opened the door, the #3 Volkswagen firing up the inside as the cars approached turn two.

 

Behind the two leaders Michael Ho had made a blinding start in the Champ Motorsports Honda, taking third position from team-mate Henry Ho into turn two, whilst Terrence Tse had a tank-slapper at the same point, going sideways across the circuit before gathering it up at turn three. By that stage Yan was away, from Sritrai with the two Champ Motorsports Hondas in pursuit ahead of Kevin Tse and Filipe de Souza.

 

By turn eight Terrence Tse was at it again, the RoadStar Racing Seat driver struggling to get temperature into the tyres and finding the limit of adhesion wasn’t as great as he’d expected. Again he gathered it up and carried on in pursuit of the top six.

 

Not long after Sritrai was in the wars, running down the grass at turn six to avoid the rear of Yan’s Volkswagen, the Thai driver admitting afterwards that the team had fitted new brake pads and he just didn’t have the stopping power, fortunately the issue was only short-lived.

 

The spins continued to come, Douglas Khoo at the fast turn 13, then new recruit Neric Wei in the gorgeous new Volkswagen Golf GTi, whilst up front a great battle was brewing for fifth place between de Souza and Kevin Tse the two side-by-side and banging doors for a number of laps before Tse finally got the better of the Engstler Motorsport driver.

 

Up front though Yan maintained the gap he had to arch-rival Sritrai, crossing the line 1.5-seconds clear of the Honda driver, whilst Henry Ho crossed the line 10-seconds further back after suffering a late race steering issue.

 

Fourth was TeamWork Motorsport’s Kevin Tse who got the better of de Souza across the closing laps, in the process sealing the Amateur’s Trophy.

 

Sixth was Neric Wei who got the better of a mid-race battle with Terrene Tse, the Seat driver claiming seventh, and third in the Amateur division behind Wei, whilst Bill O’Brien’s impressive start to the weekend was thwarted by opening lap issues avoiding cars spinning around him.

 

Frustratingly for Viper Niza Racing’s Douglas Khoo he had a technical issue with the car on the line at the start and was unable to get away with the field, dropping well behind and unable to peg the field back across the 12-lap journey, a frustrating end to what had been a great run through practice with the Malaysian driver finding plenty of pace in the mid-season break.

 

Round#6 (12-laps)


Terrence Tse was off pole position for the second race with the top eight cars from qualifying inverted, the Seat driver with Neric Wei alongside. Sadly the Volkswagen driver, who had never started from the front row before, was swamped by the field into turn one, losing out to Filipe de Souza, Kevin Tse, Tin Sritrai and Andy Yan - the leaders charging hard from the fourth row.

 

De Souza, Sritrai and Yan were quickly through on race leader Tse, then it was de Souza who came under fire as both Sritrai and his team-mate fired around the outside into the ‘Parabolica’ (turn 13). Not long after Sritrai lost the lead on the exit of turn one, the #9 Team Thailand Honda running wide again a number of times during the next few laps signaling a bigger issue.

 

Utimately the Thai driver was forced back into the pits with the re-emergence of dramas that had delayed him at Buriram, whilst up front, Yan was out to an unassailable lead, as the battle began for third place between team-mate de Souza and his race one rival, Kevin Tse.

 

Behind them a great battle ensued once more between Terrence Tse and Neric Wei, the two battling hard for position, a classic late braking duel down at turn six saw both cars with their tyres locked, and whilst Wei took the inside line and the advantage on turn in, he too ran off on the exit allowing Tse back into P4. A similar situation the following lap allowed Wei back into fourth.

 

Sadly for the Honda teams, issues sidelined both Champ Motorsports cars, leaving the five Volkswagens and the sole Seat Leon of Terrence Tse still circulating after Kenneth Ma was forced to retire the gorgeous Ford Focus TCR after a turbo failure in the opening race and Douglas Khoo was sideline with a tyre failure in the closing laps.

 

With Yan continuing to extend his lead despite the 30-kilogram success ballast, the focus was on the battle for the remaining positions on the podium, with Kevin Tse ultimately breaking free of de Souza’s grip in the final few laps, the Macanese driver claiming his first podium for the year, and a Liqui Moly Engstler Motorsport 1-3. For Volkswagen it was even better news with a podium lock-out, whilst for Andy Yan, it was four wins on the trot and a big extension in his championship lead, a lead which will surely see him crowned champion at seasons end.

 

Keep up to date with the TCR Asia Series website - www.asia.tcr-series.com for news and updates - and through social media; www.facebook.com/TCRAsiaSeries which will also feature news, video clips, images and updates, and you can also get involved in the conversation on www.twitter.com/TCRAsiaSeries 

 

 

Andy Yan (#3 Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR)

“I’m from Hong Kong, but I treat this as my home race in China. Yesterday Tin [Sritrai] was very, very fast and took pole position, but today off the start for race one I knew I had a chance to overtake if he took the middle line, and I’ve experienced many times the opportunity to make a move on the inside off the start and it worked. Because I know the circuit so well, I was able to use that experience to my advantage.”

 

Tin Sritrai (#9 Team Thailand Honda Civic TCR)

“That’s the least amount of practice I’ve ever had in my life, just four laps and then qualifying.. That made it very challenging for the team to set up the car, but in qualifying I managed to get a good lap. Unfortunately my lack of experience in the opening race let Andy through for the lead, and as the race wore on, I experienced very bad understeer. In turn six too I had a big problem with brakes, perhaps as a result of new pads, and I ran off whilst I was chasing Andy but after that it was fine. Unfortunately we’re still suffering a little from the issue we had in Thailand, but I will continue to do my best.”

 

Henry Ho (#88 Champ Motorsport Honda Civic TCR)

“I didn’t get a very good start in race one and went side-by-side with Michael into turn one, but experience told me there’s no advantage on the outside there so I just had to back off and wait for my time to pass him, but he was very quick so I used up a lot of tyres and brakes to get around him, and by then the two leaders were gone. Towards the last few laps, I had to drop the pace because the steering had an issue and the car struggled to turn right, so I thought I’d back off and make sure I got to the podium.”

 

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Shanghai International Circuit, China (20 August, 2016)

Qualifying#1 (20-minutes)

1. 9. Tin Sritrai (Team Thailand Honda Civic TCR) - 2:20.295

2. 38. Michael Ho (Champ Motorsport Honda Civic TCR) - 2:21.281

3. 88. Henry Ho (Champ Motorsport Honda Civic TCR) - 2:21.410

4. 8. Kevin Tse (TeamWork Motorsport VW Golf GTi TCR) - 2:21.630

5. 3. Andy Yan (Liqui Moly Team Engstler VW Golf GTi TCR) - 2:22.661

6. 14. Neric Wei (Son Veng Racing Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) - 2:22.934

7. 26. Filipe de Souza (Liqui Moly Team Engstler VW Golf GTi TCR) - 2:23.173

8. 17. Terence Tse (Roadstar Racing Seat Leon TCR) - 2:23.728

9. 7. Bill O’Brien (TeamWork Motorsport VW Golf GTi TCR) - 2:24.544

10. 65. Douglas Khoo (Viper Niza Racing Seat Leon TCR) - 2:24.849

11. 78. Kenneth Ma (FRD Racing Ford Focus TCR) - 2:29.519

 

Qualifying#2 (10-minutes)

1. 9. Tin Sritrai (Team Thailand Honda Civic TCR) - 2:19.210

2. 3. Andy Yan (Liqui Moly Team Engstler VW Golf GTi TCR) - 2:19.295

3. 88. Henry Ho (Champ Motorsport Honda Civic TCR) - 2:20.092

4. 38. Michael Ho (Champ Motorsport Honda Civic TCR) - 2:20.501

5. 8. Kevin Tse (TeamWork Motorsport VW Golf GTi TCR) - 2:21.033

6. 26. Filipe de Souza (Liqui Moly Team Engstler VW Golf GTi TCR) - 2:21.046

7. 14. Neric Wei (Son Veng Racing Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) - 2:21.767

8. 17. Terence Tse (Roadstar Racing Seat Leon TCR) - 2:23.166

 

Shanghai International Circuit, China (21 August, 2016)

Round#5 (12-laps)

1. 3. Andy Yan (Liqui Moly Team Engstler VW Golf GTi TCR) - 12-laps

2. 9. Tin Sritra (Team Thailand Honda Civic TCR) +1.539

3. 88. Henry Ho (Champ Motorsport Honda Civic TCR) +10.279

4. 8. Kevin Tse (TeamWork Motorsport VW Golf GTi TCR) +16.919

5. 26. Filipe de Souza (Liqui Moly Team Engstler VW Golf GTi TCR) +18.738

6. 14. Neric We (Son Veng Racing Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) +47.564

7. 17. Terence Tse (Roadstar Racing Seat Leon TCR) +53.080

8. 7. Bill O’Brien (TeamWork Motorsport VW Golf GTi TCR) +1:32.124

9. 65. Douglas Khoo (Viper Niza Racing Seat Leon TCR) +2:17.558

DNF. 38. Michael Ho (Champ Motorsport Honda Civic TCR)

DNS. 78. Kenneth Ma (FRD Racing Ford Focus TCR)

 

Round#6 (12-laps)

1. 3. Andy Yan (Liqui Moly Team Engstler VW Golf GTi TCR) - 12-laps

2. 8. Kevin Tse (TeamWork Motorsport VW Golf GTi TCR) +13.079

3. 26. Filipe de Souza (Liqui Moly Team Engstler VW Golf GTi TCR) +14.391

4. 14. Neric We (Son Veng Racing Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) +42.127

5. 17. Terence Tse (Roadstar Racing Seat Leon TCR) +45.490

6. 7. Bill O’Brien (TeamWork Motorsport VW Golf GTi TCR) +58.255

DNF. 65. Douglas Khoo (Viper Niza Racing Seat Leon TCR) - 11-laps

DNF. 9. Tin Sritra (Team Thailand Honda Civic TCR) - 8-laps

DNF. 38. Michael Ho (Champ Motorsport Honda Civic TCR) - 2-laps

DNF. 88. Henry Ho (Champ Motorsport Honda Civic TCR) - 1-lap

DNS. 78. Kenneth Ma (FRD Racing Ford Focus TCR)




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Every race in the 2016 TCR Asia Series season will be live-streamed with experienced commentators Jonathan Green - the voice of TCR Asia - joined by Steve Martin to call all the action.

 

Details of the streams and the broadcast times will be available on the TCR Asia Series website - www.asia.tcr-series.com - and through social media; www.facebook.com/TCRAsiaSeries will also post news, video clips, images and updates, and you can also get involved in the conversation on www.twitter.com/TCRAsiaSeries 

 

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Driver’s Championship points (after six rounds of ten)


1. Andy Yan (148-points), 2. Kevin Tse (83), 2. Henry Ho (70), 4. Tin Sritrai (65), 5. Filipe de Souza (64), 6. Roelof Bruins (41), 7. Jack Lemvard (31), 8. Terrence Tse (28), 9. Neric Wei Chaoyin (20), 10. Michael Ho (18), 11. Narasak Ittiritpong (17),12. Nattachak Hanjitkasem (16), 13. Bill O’Brien (14), 14. Douglas Khoo (12), 15. Patritat Bulbon (7), 16. Yu Kam Cheong (3), 17. Kenneth Ma (0)

 

Amateur Driver’s Championship points (after six rounds of ten)


1. Kevin Tse (150), 2. Terrence Tse (88), 3. Douglas Khoo (59), 4. Bill O’Brien (59), 5. Michael Ho (52), 6. Nattachak Hanjitkasem (47), 7. Neric Wei Chaoyin (45), 8. Patritat Bulbon (28), 9. Yu Kam Cheong (20), 10. Kenneth Ma (6)



 

TCR Asia Series Teams Championship points (after six rounds of ten)


1. Liqui Moly Team Engstler (212), 2. TeamWork Motorsport (97), 3. Champ Motorsport (88), 4. Team Thailand (65), 4. Viper Niza Racing (53), 6. Vattana Motorsport (48), 7. RoadStar Racing Team (31), 8. Son Veng Racing Team (20), 9. TBN MK ihere Racing Team (16), 10. Sloth Racing (7), 11. FRD Racing Team (0)

Chang International Circuit, Buriram, Thailand

Rnd#3/4, 2016 TCR Asia Series - 10-12 June, 2016

 

The Buriram round of the TCR Asia Series promised plenty of action, the battle through practice and qualifying between points leader Tin Sritrai, compatriot and series debutante Jack Lemvard and Volkswagen’s Andy Yan had fans anxious in anticipation for what was to come.

 

Sadly though the equation lost Sritrai early in proceedings, the Team Thailand star failing to finish either race with technical issues with the Honda, whilst Lemvard’s challenge ultimately fell short after contact with Kevin Tse in race two, but there was no denying the man of the weekend - Liqui Moly Team Engstler’s Andy Yan - the Hong Kong driver claiming back-to-back wins - his first ever in TCR - and with it, a solid lead in the 2016 championship.

 

Kevin Tse too was a big winner, the TeamWork Motorsport Volkswagen driver claiming a win and a second in the Amateur points battle, to take a commanding lead into the third event of the season at Shanghai. 

 

Round#3 (15-laps)


Off pole position, Jack Lemvard held the lead into the fast right-hander with Vattana Motorsport team-mate Narasak Ittiritpong in close pursuit, whilst behind them Andy Yan held out Kevin Tse and team-mate Filipe de Souza for third.

 

Viper Niza Racing’s Douglas Khoo had a monster start to be seventh behind Patritat Bulbon, the two Seat Leon drivers latching onto the rear of the leaders on the run down to turn two where Yan quickly made his intentions felt.

 

It didn’t take long for the multiple China Touring Car champion to move into second after Ittiritpong ran wide at turn three, with Kevin Tse following him through in the TeamWork Motorsport Golf.

 

The big mover, and the man behind the success of the Thailand TCR Series - Paritat Bulbon - was also on the move, leap-frogging de Souza at the final turn on the second lap, with the slow starting Henry Ho and Nattachak Hanjitkasem following closely behind.

 

Yan by this stage was monstering Lemvard all over the circuit, but the local star knew exactly where to place his Vattana Motorsport Seat, but on lap five, the Volkswagen driver took advantage of the Lemvard running slightly off line into turn one, to pull alongside in a drag race to turn two and take the position away.

 

From there it was fait-accompli with the Liqui Moly Team Engstler driver extending his lead with every lap to cross the line almost three seconds clear of Lemvard, with the recovering Ittiritpong third. Henry Ho overcame some of his qualifying electrical woes to grab fourth from Filipe de Souza who had enjoyed one of his best ever races in the TCR category.

 

Sadly we lost two of the TCR Asia Series stars in the early laps, the most notable being points leader Tin Sritrai. The young Thai was forced back into the pits on lap three with a turbo issue, although it was a relatively easy fix, a late night engine change after an overheating issue in practice seeing the team frustrated by something which had been left untightened.

 

For Kenneth Ma though, the series stalwart was forced back into pit lane not long after Sritrai with an ECU issue, something which the RoadStar team had been managing across the weekend, but something that Ma lamented might not be repairable at the circuit.

 

In the battle for Amateur points, Nattachak Hanjitkasem took the top spot by virtue of finishing sixth, one place ahead of the luckless Kevin Tse who was forced to commit a drive through penalty early in the race after contact with Ittiritpong, whilst Douglas Khoo was a joyous but exhausted third, having gained significant ground over his pace in South Korea.

 

Round#4 (15-laps)


With a reverse grid top ten, Yan would start tenth with rival Lemvard alongside but with the inside run to turn one. Terrence Tse started off pole, and the RoadStar Racing Seat driver made the most of the position to lead all the way to turn 12, before contact with Lemvard saw him pushed to the outside of the circuit.

 

Off the back the big mover was Sritrai, the local hero quickly through the field to be third and on the tail of Kevin Tse by lap two, the TeamWork Motorsport driver having taken advantage of Lemvard’s contact with Tse to grab second behind Yan, but not before contact between the two which dropped Lemvard back to seventh.

 

Sritrai was on a charge, and on lap four he took a big dive up the inside of Tse on the final corner, but was carrying too much speed, overshooting his braking point to allow the Volkswagen driver back into position. This worked perfectly into Yan’s hands, the Liqui Moly Team Engstler driver extending his lead marginally with each lap as Sritrai fell back into the clutches of Ho, before sadly being forced back down pit lane, this time with a repeat of his practice issue - overheating.

 

Despite an ill-handling car after contact with Tse on lap two, Lemvard continued to battle, latching onto the tail of de Souza in a fight that went all the way down to the final lap, the pair finishing fourth and fifth with Ho inheriting third after Sritrai’s demise.

 

Ultimately Tse could do little about Yan, the two Volkswagen drivers just too good for their rivals, although the TeamWork driver did close down the gap in the closing stages to finish just 3.6-seconds down, and six seconds up on Ho’s Honda.

 

Tse’s second place also handed him the top Amateur points for the weekend, turning the tables on the consistent Hanjitkasem who was again sixth, with Paritat Bulbon hanging on for a well deserved third.

 

Douglas Khoo was fourth in the Amateur battle ahead of pole-sitter Terrence Tse and TeamWork’s Bill O’Brien, the American having overcome a frustrating start to the weekend with a technical issue that saw him stranded in the pits through much of practice.

 

For Kenneth Ma, the experienced Hong Kong touring car driver and team boss battled on with his electrical issues, completing the full quota of laps to be eleveth.

 

The championship now takes an extended break, with the third event of the season scheduled for Shanghai, China on the 19-21 August.

 

Keep up to date with the TCR Asia Series website - www.asia.tcr-series.com for news and updates - and through social media; www.facebook.com/TCRAsiaSeries which will also feature news, video clips, images and updates, and you can also get involved in the conversation on www.twitter.com/TCRAsiaSeries 

 

 

1. Andy Yan (#3 Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR)

“For me and the team it’s a fantastic weekend - two victories. My start was quite good in race two, but there was a lot of overtaking. For the first two laps I just concentrated on the job at hand, at staying safe, and avoiding contact. From there the car was fantastic, very steady and got me home for the win. I really enjoyed the weekend in Thailand, now it’s time to go forward and fight for the championship.” 

 

2. Kevin Tse (#8 TeamWork Motorsport Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR)

“I said this morning that I wanted to be on the overall podium, and I did it, so I’m very happy. It was a very chaotic race, Andy [Yan] started tenth and I started ninth and we finished 1-2, which is some kind of miracle because it was almost like a blur to me from lap one to lap three. We cut through the traffic very well, but I knew it was Andy in front of me, and when it’s Andy, once he’s gone, he’s gone!”

 

3. Henry Ho (#88 Champ Motorsport Honda Civic TCR)

“It was a very tough weekend. Basically I didn’t drive much through testing and practice because despite the fact we thought we’d solved the electrical problems we had from South Korea, it turned out nothing had changed. I was having rev cuts at 5000rpm, they seem to have solved that for race two, but there was another issue which kept me from attacking the leaders, so I just held my ground to the flag.”


 

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Chang International Circuit, Buriram, Thailand (12 June)

Round#3 (15-laps)

1. 3. Andy Yan (Liqui Moly Team Engstler VW Golf GTi TCR) - 15-laps


2. 44. Jack Lemvard (Vattana Motorsport Seat Leon TCR) +2.705


3. 13. Narasak Ittiritpong (Vattana Motorsport Honda Civic TCR) +6.088


4. 88. Henry Ho (Champ Motorsport Honda Civic TCR) +11.112


5. 26. Filipe de Souza (Liqui Moly Team Engstler VW Golf GTi TCR) +21.721


6. 66. Nattachak Hanjitkasem (TBN MK ihere Honda Civic TCR) +24.997

7. 8. Kevin Tse (TeamWork Motorsport VW Golf GTi TCR) +34.236


8. 65. Douglas Khoo (Viper Niza Racing Seat Leon TCR) +38.564


9. 17. Terence Tse (Roadstar Racing Seat Leon TCR) +44.602


10. 77. Paritat Bulbon (Sloth Racing Seat Leon TCR) +51.044


11. 7. Bill O’Brien (TeamWork Motorsport VW Golf GTi TCR) +61.228

DNF. 78. Kenneth Ma (Roadstar Racing Seat Leon TCR) - 2-laps


DNF. 9. Tin Sritra (Team Thailand Honda Civic TCR) - 2-laps


 

Round#4 (15-laps)

1. 3. Andy Yan (Liqui Moly Team Engstler VW Golf GTi TCR) - 15-laps


2. 8. Kevin Tse (TeamWork Motorsport VW Golf GTi TCR) +3.632


3. 88. Henry Ho (Champ Motorsport Honda Civic TCR) +9.871


4. 26. Filipe de Souza (Liqui Moly Team Engstler VW Golf GTi TCR) +21.538


5. 44. Jack Lemvard (Vattana Motorsport Seat Leon TCR) +23.205


6. 66. Nattachak Hanjitkasem (TBN MK ihere Honda Civic TCR) +26.460

7. 77. Paritat Bulbon (Sloth Racing Seat Leon TCR) +40.896


8. 65. Douglas Khoo (Viper Niza Racing Seat Leon TCR) +45.111

9. 17. Terence Tse (Roadstar Racing Seat Leon TCR) +49.549


10. 7. Bill O’Brien (TeamWork Motorsport VW Golf GTi TCR) +53.957

11. 78. Kenneth Ma (Roadstar Racing Seat Leon TCR) +54.276

DNF. 9. Tin Sritra (Team Thailand Honda Civic TCR) - 7-laps


DNF. 13. Narasak Ittiritpong (Vattana Motorsport Honda Civic TCR) - 4-laps




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Every race in the 2016 TCR Asia Series season will be live-streamed with veteran commentators Jonathan Green - the voice of TCR Asia - joined by Steve Martin to call all the action.

 

Details of the streams and the broadcast times will be available on the TCR Asia Series website - www.asia.tcr-series.com - and through social media; www.facebook.com/TCRAsiaSeries will also post news, video clips, images and updates, and you can also get involved in the conversation on www.twitter.com/TCRAsiaSeries 

 

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Driver’s Championship points (after four rounds of ten)


1. Andy Yan (94-points), 2. Kevin Tse (52), 2. Henry Ho (52), 4. Tin Sritrai (42), 5. Roelof Bruins (41), 6. Filipe de Souza (39), 7. Jack Lemvard (31), 8. Narasak Ittiritpong (17), 9. Michael Ho (16), 9. Nattachak Hanjitkasem (16), 11. Terrence Tse (12), 12. Douglas Khoo (10), 13. Patritat Bulbon (7), 14. Yu Kam Cheong (3), 15. Bill O’Brien (2)

 

Amateur Driver’s Championship points (after four rounds of ten)


1. Kevin Tse (96), 3. Terrence Tse (56), 3. Douglas Khoo (49), 4. Michael Ho (47), 4. Nattachak Hanjitkasem (47), 6. Bill O’Brien (34), 7. Patritat Bulbon (28), 8. Yu Kam Cheong (20), 9. Kenneth Ma (6)



 

TCR Asia Series Teams Championship points (after four rounds of ten)


1. Liqui Moly Team Engstler (133), 2. Champ Motorsport (68), 3. TeamWork Motorsport (54), 4. Viper Niza Racing (51), 5. Vattana Motorsport (48), 6. Team Thailand (42), 7. TBN MK ihere Racing Team (16), 8. RoadStar Racing Team (15), 9. Sloth Racing (7)

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Rnd#1/#2, 13-15 May - Korea International Circuit (South Korea)

Rnd#3/#4, 10-12 June - Buriram International Circuit (Thailand)

Rnd#5/#6, 19-21 August - Shanghai International Circuit (China)

Rnd#7/#8, 21-23 October - Zhejiang Circuit (China)

Rnd#9/#10, 18-20 November - Guia Street Circuit (Macau)*

Chang International Circuit, Buriram, Thailand

Rnd#3/4, 2016 TCR Asia Series - 10-12 June, 2016

 

Liqui Moly Team Engstler’s Andy Yan claimed pole position for the opening race of the TCR Asia Series at Chang International Circuit in Thailand, after a frantic qualifying session where he was forced to fight for every millisecond with local hero Jack Lemvard.

 

Lemvard too tried everything he knew to get the position back, ultimately bettering Yan’s time in the dying seconds before race stewards deemed he had gone outside track limits at turn 12, negating his top time, which handed Yan his maiden pole position in TCR Asia.

 

In testing conditions with light rain falling ahead of the late afternoon qualifying session, Yan, TeamWork Motorsport’s Kevin Tse, Lemvard, Lemvard’s Vattana Motorsport team-mate Narasak Ittiritpong and Yan’s team-mate Filipe de Souza battled for position with mere hundredths separating them as the clock wound down.

 

Missing from the fight though was Tin Sritrai, the TCR Asia Series points leader in the garage with an engine issue, something which will prompt an overnight engine change for Team Thailand.

 

Practice
After official testing on Friday, team’s returned Saturday for two official 30-minute practice sessions ahead of qualifying.

 

The test sessions had given us an idea of what to expect, and local stars Tin Sritrai and Jack Lemvard, and multiple China Touring Car champion Andy Yan duly responded to keep both fans and teams glued to the monitors.

 

Yan topped the opening session, having gotten on top of the setup of the #3 Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen, with a best of 1:45.232. Only marginally behind was Tin Sritrai in his beautifully re-liveried Honda Civic TCR, now resplendent in the colours of Thailand, and TeamWork Motorsport’s Kevin Tse.

 

Henry Ho had the Champ Motorsport Honda Civic TCR in the mix early, but as the day went on, an electrical issue - similar to that which plagued the Macanese driver in South Korea - caused an intermittent miss, something which only got worse with time.

 

In session two Sritrai hit the top early, but his pace came at a price, the Team Thailand crew forced to pull the engine from the Civic after data showed concerns with temperature, the safe option being to replace the powerplant and miss qualifying, something which will see the young Thai start rear-of-field for the opening 15-lap race.

 

Second overall in practice two was Vattana’s Ittiritpong, who was just marginally clear of Henry Ho, with Yan, Lemvard and Kevin Tse completing the top six.

 

Qualifying
With storms circling the Buriram region, teams were forced to watch the sky ahead of the two late afternoon qualifying sessions, but whilst rain fell, it was relatively light and dried up almost immediately as soon as it hit the 40+ degree track surface.

 

The circling storm also carried over to the race circuit, where Lemvard, Yan, Kevin Tse, Ittiritpong and de Souza carried over their practice pace to battle for the top spot.

 

Utlimately the top time was set by Vattana Motorsport’s Lemvard who put his Seat Leon to the top mid-session to claim the fastest time in Q1 (1:45.927), with team-mate Ittiritpong in P2. Yan was next ahead of Henry Ho who was starting to feel the effects of his electrical issue, with de Souza fifth.

 

Douglas Khoo put in an impressive drive to be sixth fastest in the Viper Niza Racing Seat, having trimmed an additional two seconds off his previous best across the day. Paritat Bulbon claimed seventh from fellow TCR Thailand competitor Nattachak Hanjitkasem, Terrence Tse, Kevin Tse, Kennetha Ma and Bill O’Brien - all 12 cars making Q2.

 

With rain continuing to fall, the teams left pit lane for the final ten minute session to set the grid for the top 12. The session was hectic as the leaders battled for position, whilst down the pack, Bill O’Brien in the TeamWork Motorsport Volkswagen had a slight off, coming back onto the track in the path of Viper Niza Racing’s Douglas Khoo.

 

Fortunately both continued without serious damage, Khoo recording the ninth fastest time, O’Brien recovering from a horror practice session which saw him turn only a handful of laps, to be 11th.

 

Up front though the fight was on, Yan and Lemvard going lap for lap. As the clock wound down to ten minutes, Yan held the top spot and looked to have pole, but the time screens changed just moments later with Lemvard taking the top time.

 

The Vattana Motorsport team celebrated on their driver’s return, but no sooner had he accepted their applause than the timing monitors flashed an alert that due to going outside track limits, his top time would be removed, dropping him to third alongside team-mate Ittiritpong and behind Yan and Kevin Tse, who put in a blinding lap to close out the session on the front row.

 

For the teams, focus now turns to Sunday’s two 15-lap races, with the Team Thailand crew working feverishly to make an engine change before the scheduled start of race one at 10:05am, race two set for 3:40pm.

 

Chang International Circuit, Buriram, Thailand (11 June)

Qualifying#1 (20-minutes)

1. 44. Jack Lemvard (Vattana Motorsport Seat Leon TCR) - 1:45.927


2. 13. Narasak Ittiritpong (Vattana Motorsport Honda Civic TCR) - 1:46.385


3. 3. Andy Yan (Liqui Moly Team Engstler VW Golf GTi TCR) - 1:46.398


4. 88. Henry Ho (Champ Motorsport Honda Civic TCR) - 1:47.592


5. 26. Filipe de Souza (Liqui Moly Team Engstler VW Golf GTi TCR) - 1:47.972


6. 65. Douglas Khoo (Viper Niza Racing Seat Leon TCR) - 1:48.188


7. 77. Paritat Bulbon (Sloth Racing Seat Leon TCR) - 1:48.421


8. 66. Nattachak Hanjitkasem (TBN MK ihere Honda Civic TCR) - 1:48.422

9. 17. Terence Tse (Roadstar Racing Seat Leon TCR) - 1:49.013


10. 8. Kevin Tse (TeamWork Motorsport VW Golf GTi TCR) - 1:49.401


11. 78. Kenneth Ma (Roadstar Racing Seat Leon TCR) - 1:51.801


12. 7. Bill O’Brien (TeamWork Motorsport VW Golf GTi TCR) - 1:52.837

13. 9. Tin Sritra (Team Thailand Honda Civic TCR) - NTR


 

Qualifying#2 (10-minutes)

1. 3. Andy Yan (Liqui Moly Team Engstler VW Golf GTi TCR) - 1:45.141


2. 8. Kevin Tse (TeamWork Motorsport VW Golf GTi TCR) - 1:45.442


3. 44. Jack Lemvard (Vattana Motorsport Seat Leon TCR) - 1:45.477


4. 13. Narasak Ittiritpong (Vattana Motorsport Honda Civic TCR) - 1:45.645

5. 26. Filipe de Souza (Liqui Moly Team Engstler VW Golf GTi TCR) - 1:45.779


6. 88. Henry Ho (Champ Motorsport Honda Civic TCR) - 1:46.019


7. 66. Nattachak Hanjitkasem (TBN MK ihere Honda Civic TCR) - 1:46.149

8. 77. Paritat Bulbon (Sloth Racing Seat Leon TCR) - 1:46.867


9. 65. Douglas Khoo (Viper Niza Racing Seat Leon TCR) - 1:47.306

10. 17. Terence Tse (Roadstar Racing Seat Leon TCR) - 1:48.963


11. 7. Bill O’Brien (TeamWork Motorsport VW Golf GTi TCR) - 1:49.601

12. 78. Kenneth Ma (Roadstar Racing Seat Leon TCR) - 1:50.125

 


--------------------------------------------------------

 

Schedule (ICT - GMT +7)

 

10:05am - Race#1 (15-laps)

15:40am - Race#2 (15-laps)

 

--------------------------------------------------------

 

Every race in the 2016 TCR Asia Series season will be live-streamed with veteran commentators Jonathan Green - the voice of TCR Asia - joined by Steve Martin to call all the action.

 

Details of the streams and the broadcast times will be available on the TCR Asia Series website - www.asia.tcr-series.com - and through social media; www.facebook.com/TCRAsiaSeries will also post news, video clips, images and updates, and you can also get involved in the conversation on www.twitter.com/TCRAsiaSeries 

 

--------------------------------------------------------

 

Chang International Circuit, Buriram (Thailand)

Track length: 4.554-kilometres

Corners: 12

Rotation: clockwise

Designer/Circuit first opened: Hermann Tilke, 2014

TCR Asia Series Lap record: 
1:45.040 - Race (M. Sathienthirakul Craft Bamboo Seat Leon TCR, October 2015)
1:45.081 - Qualifying (M. Sathienthirakul Craft Bamboo Seat Leon TCR, October 2015) 

Website: www.asia.tcr-series.com

Support classes: GT Asia Series, Clio Cup Asia, Asian Formula Renault

 

Chang International Circuit at Buriram - east of the Thailand’s capital Bangkok - played host to the final round of the 2015 TCR Asia Series. The venue was both popular with teams and fans alike, with a record crowd attending the circuit on the Sunday to watch the TCR Asia Series drivers compete against the TCR International Series regulars. In the end local heroes Tin Sritrai and Munkong Sathienthirakul took a win apiece in TCR Asia after mixing it with the international stars inside the top ten.

 

2015 - Rnd#5 (14-laps)

Pole position: Munkong Sathienthirakul (Craft Bamboo Seat Leon TCR) - 1:45.081

1. Munkong Sathienthirakul (Craft Bamboo Seat Leon TCR)

2. Tin Sritrai (Asia Racing Team Seat Leon TCR)


3. Kevin Pu (Asia Racing Team Seat Leon TCR)

 



2015 - Rnd#6 (14-laps)

1. Tin Sritrai (Asia Racing Team Seat Leon TCR)


2. Munkong Sathienthirakul (Craft Bamboo Seat Leon TCR)

3. Kevin Pu (Asia Racing Team Seat Leon TCR)


 

-------------------------------------------------------

 

Driver’s Championship points (after two rounds of ten)


1. Tin Sritrai (42-points), 2. Roelof Bruins (41), 3. Andy Yan (39), 4. Henry Ho (25), 5. Kevin Tse (24), 6. Michael Ho (16), 6. Filipe de Souza (16), 8. Terrence Tse (8), 9. Bill O’Brien (0), 9. Yu Kam Cheong (0), 9. Douglas Khoo (0)

 

Amateur Driver’s Championship points (after two rounds of ten)


1. Kevin Tse (48), 2. Michael Ho (47), 3. Terrence Tse (33), 4. Yu Kam Cheong (20), 4. Douglas Khoo (20), 6. Bill O’Brien (18)

 



--------------------------------------------------------

 

Rnd#1/#2, 13-15 May - Korea International Circuit (South Korea)

Rnd#3/#4, 10-12 June - Buriram International Circuit (Thailand)

Rnd#5/#6, 19-21 August - Shanghai International Circuit (China)

Rnd#7/#8, 21-23 October - Zhejiang Circuit (China)

Rnd#9/#10, 18-20 November - Guia Street Circuit (Macau)*

Chang International Circuit, Buriram, Thailand

Rnd#3/4, 2016 TCR Asia Series - 10-12 June, 2016

 

The TCR Asia Series returned to Chang International Circuit for the second event of the 2016 season, but whilst many of the teams are enjoying their second visit to Buriram, the conditions this time around are very different to what they had to face last October..

 

Through the three 30-minute official test sessions on Friday, ambient temperatures soared into the high 30s, with track temperatures in excess of 50 degrees in the middle of the day, whilst cabin comfort for the drivers exceeded 60 degrees.. It was hot!

 

On track the action matched the conditions, with the three sessions suggesting that we can expect another fantastic round of racing, hot on the heels of a brilliant season-opener in South Korea, although we will sadly be without Viper Niza Racing’s South Korean sensation Roelof Bruins who has been forced to withdraw due to outside commitments, but we have a more than worthy replacement to take up the challenge; Thailand’s Jack Lemvard..

 

An experienced campaigner in his home country, Lemvard made his TCR debut as part of TCR Thailand at Buriram three weeks ago, pushing GT star Carlo Van Dam all the way to the line in both races, the second of which saw him shadow the experienced Dutchman across the full race distance.. “I was so close to getting him too,” Lemvard reflected.

 

On top of the timesheets in session one, Lemvard’s Vattana Motorsport Seat Leon was forced to settle for the second spot in session two behind TCR Asia Series points leader Tim Sritrai, but the tables were turned once more in Lemvard’s favour in the final session.

 

“It’s funny, but conditions are a lot slower than they were here three weeks ago, but we’re pushing. It’s great battling with Tin, but we’ve got a little more in reserve, so we’ll see what qualifying brings..”

 

Sritrai too was happy with his performance, but he admitted that doing double-duty in the Singha Motorsport Ferrari 458 Challenge in GT Asia was forcing him to really think about his driving..

 

“It’s such a different car to drive to the Honda, but it’s enjoyable. I think we’ll be okay this weekend. I like Buriram, and it’s great to race in front of my ‘home’ crowd. Jack [Lemvard] is very fast, and I think we’ll have a great race, but my focus is the championship, that’s what is important.”

 

Third fastest was Liqui Moly team Engstler’s Andy Yan, the multiple China Touring Car champion closing the gap to the two Thai drivers across the day to finish just under three tenths slower than Sritrai, with team-mate Filipe de Souza a welcome fifth.

 

“Finally I’m starting to find a rhythm I like,” the Macanese driver said with his trademark wide smile.

 

Splitting the two Liqui Moly Volkswagen Golf GTi TCRs was the second of the Vattana Motorsport entries of Narasak Ittiritpong (Honda Civic TCR), with TeamWork Motorsport’s Kevin Tse also right in the mix.

 

Frustratingly for the team their second entry was suffering a niggling technical issue which tied Bill O’Brien up for much of the day.

 

“I sat in the car for 25-minutes in the final session as the team worked to sort the problem,” he explained. “It’s nothing dramatic and I’m sure overnight they’ll sort it, but it was like sitting in an oven in pit lane..!”

 

With testing over and done, it’s time to focus on the business end of the weekend, with Saturday providing two further 30-minute practice sessions ahead of qualifying late in the day. Sunday will then see two 15-lap races for teams to do battle, and based on testing, it’s going to be a battle to remember..

 

Every round of the 2016 TCR Asia Series is live-streamed, with coverage beginning ten minutes ahead of each scheduled race.

 

Details of the streams and the broadcast times will be available on the TCR Asia Series website - www.asia.tcr-series.com - and through social media; www.facebook.com/TCRAsiaSeries will also post news, video clips, images and updates, and you can also get involved in the conversation on www.twitter.com/TCRAsiaSeries 

 

Chang International Circuit, Buriram, Thailand (10 June)

Official Testing#1 (30-minutes)

1. Jack Lemvard (Vattana Motorsport Seat Leon TCR) - 1:46.376

2. Tin Sritrai (Team Thailand Honda Civic TCR) - 1:46.402

3. Andy Yan (Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) - 1:47.007


4. Narasak Ittiritpong (Vattana Motorsport Honda Civic TCR) - 1:47.263

5. Kevin Tse (TeamWork Motorsport Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) - 1:47.316

6. Henry Ho (Champ Motorsport Honda Civic TCR) - 1:47.513

7. Filipe de Souza (Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) - 1:47.645


8. Paritat Bulbon (Sloth Racing Seat Leon TCR) - 1:47.740

9. Nattachak Hanjitkasem (TBN MK ihere Racing Honda Civic TCR) - 1:48.505

10. Douglas Khoo (Viper Niza Racing  Seat Leon TCR) - 1:50.064

11. Bill O’Brien (TeamWork Motorsport Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) - 1:51.213


12. Terrence Tse (Roadstar Racing  Seat Leon TCR) - 1:51.521

13. Kenneth Ma (Roadstar Racing  Seat Leon TCR) - 1:53.837

14. Yu Kam Cheong (Roadstar Racing  Seat Leon TCR) - NTR

 

Official Practice#2 (30-minutes)

1. Tin Sritrai (Team Thailand Honda Civic TCR) - 1:45.896

2. Andy Yan (Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) - 1:46.640

3. Narasak Ittiritpong (Vattana Motorsport Honda Civic TCR) - 1:46.799

4. Jack Lemvard (Vattana Motorsport Seat Leon TCR) - 1:47.097

5. Kevin Tse (TeamWork Motorsport Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) - 1:47.932

6. Filipe de Souza (Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) - 1:47.957

7. Paritat Bulbon (Sloth Racing Seat Leon TCR) - 1:48.684

8. Nattachak Hanjitkasem (TBN MK ihere Racing Honda Civic TCR) - 1:49.236

9. Douglas Khoo (Viper Niza Racing  Seat Leon TCR) - 1:49.283

10. Terrence Tse (Roadstar Racing  Seat Leon TCR) - 1:50.847

11. Kenneth Ma (Roadstar Racing  Seat Leon TCR) - 1:52.561

12. Henry Ho (Champ Motorsport Honda Civic TCR) - NTR

13. Bill O’Brien (TeamWork Motorsport Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) - NTR

14. Yu Kam Cheong (Roadstar Racing  Seat Leon TCR) - NTR

 

Official Practice#3 (30-minutes)

1. Jack Lemvard (Vattana Motorsport Seat Leon TCR) - 1:45.561

2. Tin Sritrai (Team Thailand Honda Civic TCR) - 1:45.939

3. Andy Yan (Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) - 1:46.223

4. Narasak Ittiritpong (Vattana Motorsport Honda Civic TCR) - 1:46.563

5. Filipe de Souza (Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) - 1:46.624

6. Kevin Tse (TeamWork Motorsport Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) - 1:4746.643

7. Paritat Bulbon (Sloth Racing Seat Leon TCR) - 1:47.657

8. Nattachak Hanjitkasem (TBN MK ihere Racing Honda Civic TCR) - 1:47.963

9. Douglas Khoo (Viper Niza Racing  Seat Leon TCR) - 1:48.681

10. Terrence Tse (Roadstar Racing  Seat Leon TCR) - 1:50.464

11. Kenneth Ma (Roadstar Racing  Seat Leon TCR) - 1:51.237

12. Bill O’Brien (TeamWork Motorsport Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) - NTR

13. Henry Ho (Champ Motorsport Honda Civic TCR) - NTR

14. Yu Kam Cheong (Roadstar Racing  Seat Leon TCR) - NTR

 

--------------------------------------------------------

 

Chang International Circuit, Buriram (Thailand)

Track length: 4.554-kilometres

Corners: 12

Rotation: clockwise

Designer/Circuit first opened: Hermann Tilke, 2014

TCR Asia Series Lap record: 

1:45.040 - Race (M. Sathienthirakul Craft Bamboo Seat Leon TCR, October 2015)

1:45.081 - Qualifying (M. Sathienthirakul Craft Bamboo Seat Leon TCR, October 2015) 

Website: www.asia.tcr-series.com

Support classes: GT Asia Series, Clio Cup Asia, Asian Formula Renault

 

Chang International Circuit at Buriram - east of the Thailand’s capital Bangkok - played host to the final round of the 2015 TCR Asia Series. The venue was both popular with teams and fans alike, with a record crowd attending the circuit on the Sunday to watch the TCR Asia Series drivers compete against the TCR International Series regulars. In the end local heroes Tin Sritrai and Munkong Sathienthirakul took a win apiece in TCR Asia after mixing it with the international stars inside the top ten.

 

2015 - Rnd#5 (14-laps)

Pole position: Munkong Sathienthirakul (Craft Bamboo Seat Leon TCR) - 1:45.081

1. Munkong Sathienthirakul (Craft Bamboo Seat Leon TCR)

2. Tin Sritrai (Asia Racing Team Seat Leon TCR)

3. Kevin Pu (Asia Racing Team Seat Leon TCR)

 

2015 - Rnd#6 (14-laps)

1. Tin Sritrai (Asia Racing Team Seat Leon TCR)

2. Munkong Sathienthirakul (Craft Bamboo Seat Leon TCR)

3. Kevin Pu (Asia Racing Team Seat Leon TCR)

 

--------------------------------------------------------

 

Schedule (ICT - GMT +7)

 

08:30 - Practice #1 (30-minutes)

11:55 - Practice #2 (30-minutes)

17:25 - Qualifying #1 (20-minutes)

17:50 - Qualifying #2 (10-minutes)

 

10:05 - Race#1 (15-laps)

15:40 - Race#2 (15-laps)

 

-------------------------------------------------------

 

Driver’s Championship points (after two rounds of ten)


1. Tin Sritrai (42-points), 2. Roelof Bruins (41), 3. Andy Yan (39), 4. Henry Ho (25), 5. Kevin Tse (24), 6. Michael Ho (16), 6. Filipe de Souza (16), 8. Terrence Tse (8), 9. Bill O’Brien (0), 9. Yu Kam Cheong (0), 9. Douglas Khoo (0)

 

Amateur Driver’s Championship points (after two rounds of ten)


1. Kevin Tse (48), 2. Michael Ho (47), 3. Terrence Tse (33), 4. Yu Kam Cheong (20), 4. Douglas Khoo (20), 6. Bill O’Brien (18)

 

--------------------------------------------------------

 

Rnd#1/#2, 13-15 May - Korea International Circuit (South Korea)

Rnd#3/#4, 10-12 June - Buriram International Circuit (Thailand)

Rnd#5/#6, 19-21 August - Shanghai International Circuit (China)

Rnd#7/#8, 21-23 October - Zhejiang Circuit (China)

Rnd#9/#10, 18-20 November - Guia Street Circuit (Macau)*

Chang International Circuit, Buriram, Thailand

Rnd#3/4, 2016 TCR Asia Series - 10-12 June, 2016

 

• TCR Asia Series returns to Thailand to battle in rounds three and four

• Local hero Tin Sritrai starts favourite, but there are plenty of challengers

• Addition of TCR Thailand regulars threatens to upstage the established stars

 

The TCR Asia Series will make a return to Thailand this weekend for the second event on the 2016 calendar at Chang International Circuit in Buriram, with an impressive entry which also includes a number of local teams competing in the Thailand TCR Series.

 

15 cars are entered for the Buriram event - the host circuit of the 2015 TCR Asia Series finale - and whilst the heat of Thailand in summer will provide plenty of challenges, so too will the entries, with an array of talented young stars keen to impress against some of Asia’s most respected and experienced touring car competitors.

 

Leading the fray will be 2015 Buriram winner and points leader Tin Sritrai. The local hero will be a firm fan favourite, but he will have his work cut out for him this weekend, the talented touring car star will be doing double-duty all weekend, having signed on to drive a GTC class Ferrari 458 in GT Asia with Voravud Bhirombhakdi.

 

After his victory in race two in South Korea, he will also have some additional ballast to contend with, Sritrai’s Team Thailand Honda Civic TCR carrying an additional 20kg in success ballast. Round one winner, and race points leader Roelof Bruins will also carry additional weight (30kg), and so too Liqui Moly team Engstler’s Andy Yan (10kg).

 

All three are expected to be in the mix again this weekend, but they will have some serious local competition from the Thailand TCR Series regulars who competed in their opening round at the Buriram circuit three weeks ago, so they are more than race ready and looking forward to the challenge presented by the TCR Asia Series drivers.

 

Leading the local charge will be Vattana Motorsport’s Jack Lemvard who claimed two podium finishes behind Singha Motorsport’s Carlo Van Dam - who returns to GT Asia duties this weekend. Joining him in a Vattana run Honda Civic TCR, will be Narasak Ittiritpong who drove a Vattana Lamborghini at the GT Asia Series finale at Buriram in 2015, the Thai driver was impressive last year, and is again expected to mix it with the leaders.

 

TBN MK ihere Racing’s Nattachak Hanjitkasem will also campaign a Honda Civic TCR, and he will be looking to improve on the two fourth placed finishes he attained in the Thailand Super Series round, whilst Paritat Bulbon will also be hoping to get into the mix in the Sloth Racing Seat Leon TCR.

 

Champ Motorsport will once again campaign two Honda Civic TCR’s, one for Macau’s Henry Ho, and the other for Series rookie, Macau’s Eurico de Jesus.

 

Volkswagen will again be well represented with TeamWork Motorsport once again campaigning Bill O’Brien and Kevin Tse, whilst Filipe de Souza will again line up alongside Andy Yan in the second of the Liqui Moly Team Engstler Golf GTi TCRs.

 

Viper Niza Racing’s Douglas Khoo will be back in his Seat Leon TCR, looking to apply the valuable knowledge the Malaysian team gained from their race winning experiences in South Korea.

 

2015 Series regulars Roadstar Racing will also return, with team boss Kenneth Ma taking over the driving duties of the #22 car, whilst South Korean drivers Terrence Tse and Yu Kam Cheong will share the wheel of the #17 car.

 

You’d be hard pressed to look past local hero Tin Sritrai for victory, but he won’t have this weekend all his own way. Viper Niza Racing’s Roelof Bruins was a sensation on his debut at South Korea, dramatically taking the opening race in the menacing black Seat Leon. He’ll be back in the thick of the action this weekend, but like Sritrai will carry success ballast which will allow the hungry pack to close the gap.

 

Multiple China Touring Car Champion Andy Yan too will be in the thick of the action, and the Liqui Moly Team Engstler operation will be keen to apply their intimate knowledge of the Golf GTi TCR to the two team cars, and Yan will be keen to apply his experience of front-wheel drive touring cars to go after his maiden win in TCR.

 

Henry Ho made the podium at the opening round in South Korea and will be a big threat in the Champ Motorsport Honda, whilst Kevin Tse showed great pace in the TeamWork Golf to be leading race two before a spin dropped him back down the order, the Amateur Driver’s points leader will be keen to make amends and go after the podium this weekend.

 

The local teams too will be right in the mix, with the two Vattana cars expected to battle with the TCR Asia Series regulars, Lemvard already showing he has what it takes to mix it with some of the best, whilst Ittiritpong showed in GT Asia last year, that he won’t be intimidated by the established stars.

 

Regardless of what happens, the opening round showed a taste of what we can expect this weekend, with some outstanding racing across both races, and with a bigger field and some experienced locals in the mix, Buriram promises to deliver that and so much more..!

 

Every race in the 2016 TCR Asia Series season will be live-streamed with veteran commentators Jonathan Green - the voice of TCR Asia - joined by Steve Martin to call all the action.

 

Details of the streams and the broadcast times will be available on the TCR Asia Series website - www.asia.tcr-series.com - and through social media; www.facebook.com/TCRAsiaSeries will also post news, video clips, images and updates, and you can also get involved in the conversation on www.twitter.com/TCRAsiaSeries 

 

--------------------------------------------------------

 

Chang International Circuit, Buriram (Thailand)

Track length: 4.554-kilometres

Corners: 12

Rotation: clockwise

Designer/Circuit first opened: Hermann Tilke, 2014

TCR Asia Series Lap record: 

1:45.040 - Race (M. Sathienthirakul Craft Bamboo Seat Leon TCR, October 2015)

1:45.081 - Qualifying (M. Sathienthirakul Craft Bamboo Seat Leon TCR, October 2015) 

 

Website: www.asia.tcr-series.com

Support classes: TCR Asia Series, Clio Cup Asia, Asian Formula Renault

 

Chang International Circuit at Buriram - east of the Thailand’s capital Bangkok - played host to the final round of the 2015 TCR Asia Series. The venue was both popular with teams and fans alike, with a record crowd attending the circuit on the Sunday to watch the TCR Asia Series drivers compete against the TCR International Series regulars. In the end local heroes Tin Sritrai and Munkong Sathienthirakul took a win apiece in TCR Asia after mixing it with the international stars inside the top ten.

 

2015 - Rnd#5 (14-laps)

Pole position: Munkong Sathienthirakul (Craft Bamboo Seat Leon TCR) - 1:45.081

1. Munkong Sathienthirakul (Craft Bamboo Seat Leon TCR)

2. Tin Sritrai (Asia Racing Team Seat Leon TCR)

3. Kevin Pu (Asia Racing Team Seat Leon TCR)

 

2015 - Rnd#6 (14-laps)

1. Tin Sritrai (Asia Racing Team Seat Leon TCR)

2. Munkong Sathienthirakul (Craft Bamboo Seat Leon TCR)

3. Kevin Pu (Asia Racing Team Seat Leon TCR)

 

--------------------------------------------------------

 

Schedule (ICT - GMT +7)

 

08:30 - Official Testing #1 (30-minutes)

12:30 - Official Testing #2 (30-minutes)

15:10 - Official Testing #3 (30-minutes)

 

08:30 - Practice #1 (30-minutes)

11:55 - Practice #2 (30-minutes)

17:25 - Qualifying #1 (20-minutes)

17:50 - Qualifying #2 (10-minutes)

 

10:05 - Race#1 (15-laps)

15:40 - Race#2 (15-laps)

 

-------------------------------------------------------

 

Driver’s Championship points (after two rounds of ten)


1. Tin Sritrai (42-points), 2. Roelof Bruins (41), 3. Andy Yan (39), 4. Henry Ho (25), 5. Kevin Tse (24), 6. Michael Ho (16), 6. Filipe de Souza (16), 8. Terrence Tse (8), 9. Bill O’Brien (0), 9. Yu Kam Cheong (0), 9. Douglas Khoo (0)

 

Amateur Driver’s Championship points (after two rounds of ten)


1. Kevin Tse (48), 2. Michael Ho (47), 3. Terrence Tse (33), 4. Yu Kam Cheong (20), 4. Douglas Khoo (20), 6. Bill O’Brien (18)

 

--------------------------------------------------------

 

Rnd#1/#2, 13-15 May - Korea International Circuit (South Korea)

Rnd#3/#4, 10-12 June - Buriram International Circuit (Thailand)

Rnd#5/#6, 19-21 August - Shanghai International Circuit (China)

Rnd#7/#8, 21-23 October - Zhejiang Circuit (China)

Rnd#9/#10, 18-20 November - Guia Street Circuit (Macau)*

2016 TCR Asia Series


Korea International Circuit, South Korea (13-15 May)

 



• Team Thailand’s Tin Sritrai leaves South Korea with a narrow points lead


• Viper Niza Racing’s Roelof Bruins goes from driver-coach to race winner


• Fantastic door-to-door action in both races, promises an interesting season



 

The opening round of the 2016 TCR Asia Series saw some impressive names added to the entry list, including some of the region’s best touring car drivers, so it was perhaps no surprise that the racing was tight at the front, although much of that had to do with a surprise last minute recruit who wasn’t added to the official entry list until Friday..!

 

In the end the round was won by Team Thailand’s Tin Sritrai, the 2015 event winner at his home circuit in Buriram was almost untouchable in practice, but the late addition of local hero Roelof (Ricardo) Bruins saw some serious competition for the young Thai, so much so that Bruins won the opening race - at Sritrai’s expense - whilst the Thai driver worked his way through for a comfortable win in round two.

 

Ahead of the opening round teams were given an opportunity to turn unofficial practice laps at Korea International Circuit on the Thursday, with Bruins throwing down the gauntlet early as the man the field would be chasing, his 2:23.720 lap-time in session one [in Douglas Khoo’s car] the benchmark heading into the official leg of the weekend.

 

QUALIFYING#1 (20-minutes)

As expected Sritrai began qualifying the same way he’d finished official practice - at the top of the timesheets, his 2:21.915 the new benchmark the rest would be forced to follow. By the close of the opening qualifier he’d been unable to better the time, but he still sat at the top of the timesheets, with the experienced Michael Ho finding some impressive pace to finish P2, displacing Roelof Bruins and Andy Yan who admitted he hadn’t quite made the most of the session.

 

QUALIFYING#2 (10-minutes)

With the top ten graduating to the second qualifier, teams enjoyed a second opportunity to gain track position for both races, something which was not lost on Sritrai who put pole completely out of the equation with a jaw-dropping 2:21.137.

 

Perhaps the biggest surprise was the driver who would share the front row, TeamWork Motorsport’s Kevin Tse putting his Volkswagen Polo GTi TCR on P2 with a late push, his 2:22.295 displacing both Yan and Bruins who was unable to find the perfect balance amidst traffic, being forced to settle for P5, but with a reverse top eight grid for the second race, the move could well have been labelled strategically clever.

 

RACE#1 (14-laps)

The start for the opening race was a fairly torrid affair on the fast run to the very tight left-hand opening turn - at one stage the field was five wide with pole-sitter Tin Sritrai holding the lead as Henry Ho and Roelof Bruins went to the extreme outside of Kevin Tse as they hit the braking point, Bruins with two wheels on the grass trying to avoid contact.

 

That forced him back to fifth, with Henry Ho the early aggressor. By turn four Kevin Tse’s promising start came unstuck on cold tyres after he’d taken the lead on the run to turn three. He was forced to watch the bulk of the field drive past him before he could rejoin with a big task ahead.

That allowed Andy Yan through to the front with Sritrai in close pursuit, whilst Bruins held Henry Ho at bay for third.

 

By lap two Sritrai was menacing the rear of Yan, but the experienced Hong Kong-based driver was up to the challenge, whilst behind them, Bruins and Henry Ho closed in to make it a four-way battle for the lead.

 

On lap six the almost inevitable happened, with Bruins making contact with the side of Sritrai as he went for a passing move at turn ten. Unsighted, Sritrai moved across to take the apex, unaware that Bruins was there. The local driver tried his best to pull out of the contact but ultimately had nowhere to go.

 

That allowed Bruins and Henry Ho to close on Yan, who delivered another masterclass in defensive driving before Bruins made the move stick at turn 12 on the final lap, having trailed Yan for almost half the race searching for any weaknesses he could exploit.

 

Bruins held on through the completion of the lap to take the win, with stewards judging there was no malice intended with the contact with Sritrai. Yan was a close second, with Henry Ho a happy third, whilst Sritrai crossed the line fourth having made up some serious ground in the closing laps as the fastest man on the circuit.

 

“I had a bad start, and dropped back to third, but I managed to come back to second behind Andy [Yan] but couldn’t quite catch him,” Sritrai explained post-race. “Then car #1 [Bruins] caught me and passed me which spun me around. I don’t think there was enough room for a move, and I was disappointed that he hit me, but there was nothing I could do about it, I just had to keep pushing for a result.”

 

From Bruin’s perspective, the contact was unavoidable..

 

“Tin was fighting with Andy for the lead, but they got held up in turn ten. Andy braked a little bit earlier and Tin didn’t defend the inside line, so I dove up the inside and braked as late as possible. I thought Tin saw me and wouldn’t move across to the apex, but he did and there was nowhere to go. Either I could lock up and T-bone Andy, or go on the grass and potentially take them both out, so I stayed on the inside and he moved across and hit me in the door and spun.

 

“It was not on purpose, you don’t time those things, it’s impossible. It’s about racing on the edge and for victory and that’s what we all do, and sometimes those things happen.”

 

RACE#2 (14-laps)

Roadstar Racing’s Terrence Tse held pole for race two, by virtue of the inversion of the top eight qualifying positions from Q2. Alongside him off the start Filipe de Souza bogged down on the inside which allowed the hungry pack behind him to swamp the Liqui Moly Team Engstler driver on the run to turn one.

 

From the second row, Roelof Bruins charged up the inside with Michael Ho - who started the Champ Motorsport Honda alongside Bruins - joining him in a drag race to turn one.

Roelof grabbed the lead on the exit with the two Champ Motorsport cars line astern behind, with Terrence Tse and Sritrai not far adrift. Bill O’Brien had made a great start to pull alongside TeamWork Motorsport team-mate Kevin Tse, but he got caught out on cold tyres on the exit of turn three and spun, dropping him to rear of field.

 

Sadly for Michael Ho, his strong start was thwarted by a spin mid lap, the tight pack for the lead contributing to his inversion.

 

By lap three Sritrai was all over the back of Bruins, the Korean driver giving him room to take the lead on the run into turn one, before tucking under the rear wing of the Team Thailand Honda on the exit with a view to returning the favour at turn three.

 

Sadly for Bruins the opportunity never presented itself, and he was soon forced to go defensive again as Yan closed in, in the Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen, the multiple China Touring Car champion making the move on the run to turn three two laps later.

 

Despite a strong third placed finish in race one, Henry Ho was struggling with a technical issue in the car during race two, but despite that and a slow getaway, he started to work his way back through the field, passing team-mate Michael Ho with just three laps remaining.

 

By this stage Bruins was back up to speed, having conserved some Michelin tyre life for one last assault on the leaders. He locked onto the back of Yan, but the Volkswagen driver too had found something a little extra, and despite immense pressure from behind, the Liqui Moly Team Engstler driver prevailed for his second podium of the weekend.

 

Up front though there was no denying Team Thailand’s Tin Sritrai who overcame the disappointment of race one to claim his first victory of the season, and the championship points lead.

 

“Starting from grid eight it was always going to be difficult because it is so hard to overtake on this track,” Sritrai admitted. “I had a good start, much better than race one because I had a lot of wheelspin, but no problem this time and I managed to overtake about five cars in the first corner.

“I also managed to catch car #1 and pass him because my pace was very good, so I just used that to my advantage to work my way into the lead, but the thanks for my performance needs to go to my team who did a very good job.”

 

“This is the first time I’ve raced with this car and Liqui Moly Team Engstler, and it went very well,” Andy Yan - who now sits third in the championship admitted. “We didn’t have any data for this circuit, so a lot of time was spent during practice developing a setup for the races.

 

“The performance of the car was better in race two. I started P6 and was up to P3 after the opening lap, but by that stage Tin and Roelof had a good lead, so I had to chase, and I ended up climbing up to second, but more importantly we collected some good data on the car in preparation for Thailand.”

 

“We had very good hopes for race two because of how well we’d done in race one. We were particularly good at saving the tyres until the end of the race, so the objective for us was to stay in front for half of the race, then see if I could get a gap,” Roelof explained.

 

“Basically for us what the problem was, was top speed, and that’s where they overtook me and there was no way I could defend. My start was very good and I got to the front for a couple of laps, but I could see them coming in the slip stream and they basically went past me and there was not much I could do. I tried to tuck in behind them and get a tow on the straight and try to follow them and secure a podium, so that’s what we did.”

 

For now the focus of the TCR Asia Series team will turn to the Chang International Circuit in Buriram in Thailand where points leader Tin Sritrai will take advantage from home track knowledge, and the fact that he was a winner in TCR when the series debuted there in 2015.

 

Throughout the season, the TCR Asia Series website  - www.asia.tcr-series.com will feature both LIVE TIMING and the LIVE STREAM. Links are available to both on the main page.

 

Keep up to date too with www.facebook.com/TCRAsiaSeries which will post news, video clips, images and updates, and you can also get involved in the conversation onwww.twitter.com/TCRAsiaSeries 

 

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Korea International Circuit, South Korea (14 May)


Qualifying#1 (20-minutes)


1. Tin Sritrai (Team Thailand Honda Civic TCR) - 2:22.714


2. Michael Ho (Champ Motorsport Honda Civic TCR) - 2:24.354


3. Roelof Bruins (Viper Niza Racing  Seat Leon TCR) - 2:24.548


4. Andy Yan (Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) - 2:24.912


5. Henry Ho (Champ Motorsport Honda Civic TCR) - 2:24.918


6. Kevin Tse (TeamWork Motorsport Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) - 2:25.273


7. Terrence Tse (Roadstar Racing  Seat Leon TCR) - 2:27.283


8. Filipe de Souza (Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) - 2:29.666


9. Bill O’Brien (TeamWork Motorsport Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) - 2:30.078


10. Yu Kam Cheong (Roadstar Racing  Seat Leon TCR) - 2:31.482


11. Douglas Khoo (Viper Niza Racing  Seat Leon TCR) - 2:32.149

 



Qualifying#2 (10-minutes)


1. Tin Sritrai (Team Thailand Honda Civic TCR) - 2:21.137


2. Kevin Tse (TeamWork Motorsport Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) - 2:22.295


3. Andy Yan (Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) - 2:22.856


4. Henry Ho (Champ Motorsport Honda Civic TCR) - 2:23.006


5. Roelof Bruins (Viper Niza Racing  Seat Leon TCR) - 2:23.489


6. Michael Ho (Champ Motorsport Honda Civic TCR) - 2:23.901


7. Filipe de Souza (Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) - 2:24.027


8. Terrence Tse (Roadstar Racing  Seat Leon TCR) - 2:27.934


9. Bill O’Brien (TeamWork Motorsport Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) - 2:29.400

 

Race#1 (14-laps)


1. Roelof Bruins (Viper Niza Racing  Seat Leon TCR) - 14-laps


2. Andy Yan (Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) +1.527


3. Henry Ho (Champ Motorsport Honda Civic TCR) +5.312


4. Tin Sritrai (Team Thailand Honda Civic TCR) +7.054


5. Michael Ho (Champ Motorsport Honda Civic TCR) +19.549


6. Kevin Tse (TeamWork Motorsport Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) +19.768


7. Filipe de Souza (Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) +29.589


8. Terrence Tse (Roadstar Racing  Seat Leon TCR) +1:24.178


9. Yu Kam Cheong (Roadstar Racing  Seat Leon TCR) +2:24.938


10. Bill O’Brien (TeamWork Motorsport Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) - 13-laps

11. Douglas Khoo (Viper Niza Racing  Seat Leon TCR) 


 

Race#2 (14-laps)


1. Tin Sritrai (Team Thailand Honda Civic TCR) - 14-laps


2. Andy Yan (Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) +2.591


3. Roelof Bruins (Viper Niza Racing  Seat Leon TCR) +3.503


4. Kevin Tse (TeamWork Motorsport Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) +10.099


5. Filipe de Souza (Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR) +31.150


6. Henry Ho (Champ Motorsport Honda Civic TCR) +42.680


7. Michael Ho (Champ Motorsport Honda Civic TCR) +45.196


8. Terrence Tse (Roadstar Racing  Seat Leon TCR) +1:10.245


9. Douglas Khoo (Viper Niza Racing  Seat Leon TCR) - 13-laps


10. Yu Kam Cheong (Roadstar Racing  Seat Leon TCR) 


11. Bill O’Brien (TeamWork Motorsport Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR)

 

Driver’s Championship points (after two rounds of ten)


1. Tin Sritrai (42-points), 2. Roelof Bruins (41), 3. Andy Yan (39), 4. Henry Ho (25), 5. Kevin Tse (24), 6. Michael Ho (16), 6. Filipe de Souza (16), 8. Terrence Tse (8), 9. Bill O’Brien (0), 9. Yu Kam Cheong (0), 9. Douglas Khoo (0)

 

Amateur Driver’s Championship points (after two rounds of ten)


1. Kevin Tse (48), 2. Michael Ho (47), 3. Terrence Tse (33), 4. Yu Kam Cheong (20), 4. Douglas Khoo (20), 6. Bill O’Brien (18)

 

--------------------------------------------------------

 

Rnd#1/#2, 13-15 May - Korea International Circuit (South Korea)

Rnd#3/#4, 10-12 June - Buriram International Circuit (Thailand)

Rnd#5/#6, 19-21 August - Shanghai International Circuit (China)

Rnd#7/#8, 21-23 October - Zhejiang Circuit (China)

Rnd#9/#10, 18-20 November - Guia Street Circuit (Macau)*

2016 TCR Asia Series

28 April, 2016

 

The TCR Asia Series is preparing for it’s second season, after becoming the first regional championship of the new Touring Car concept to compete alongside the International Series last year. Leading into the opening round of 2016, WSC Asia Limited have revealed a change in the schedule to accommodate Shanghai mid-season, replacing the Sepang round on the calendar.

 

“As a result of the resurfacing of the Sepang Circuit which was scheduled for the first half of this year, the Malaysian circuit was struggling to accommodate all the Series into just six months,” WSC Asia Limited’s David Sonenscher explained.

“As a result of having to shuffle the calendar for an alternative, the August date scheduled for the GT Asia Series in Shanghai became the logical replacement, and it offered teams a much better package, so it was the ideal fit, and aligns us now in four of the five rounds this season.”

 

The opening event of the second season will be held at Korea International Circuit in South Korea in mid-May (13-15), before the Series returns to Thailand to join the Thailand TCR Series, promising a big field of cars.

 

Entries are already confirmed for the second season, with a good mix of established and new teams. The International Series winning Seat Leon will again form the backbone of the championship, with a mix of Honda Civics, and the new Volkswagen Golf GTi TCRs.

 

A list of very competitive drivers with strong Touring Car experience have already signaled their entry in 2016, including multiple China Touring Car champion Andy Yan and his multiple Macau Touring Car championship winning team-mate Felipe de Souza. Henry Ho, another multiple-champion from the Macau Touring Car series will also join the field, alongside returning Thailand Super Series star Tin Sritrai.

 

“We’re looking forward to the opening round in South Korea, then joining the Thailand Series at Buriram in June,” David Sonenscher admitted. “This year will see another big step forward for Asian motorsport, and we look forward to watching TCR continue to grow in the region.”

 

Any teams looking at becoming involved with the TCR concept in the Asian region, should make contact via info@asia.tcr-series.com

 

Rnd#1/#2, 13-15 May - Korea International Circuit (South Korea)

Rnd#3/#4, 10-12 June - Buriram International Circuit (Thailand)

Rnd#5/#6, 19-21 August - Shanghai International Circuit (China)

Rnd#7/#8, 21-23 October - Zhejiang Circuit (China)

Rnd#9/#10, 18-20 November - Guia Street Circuit (Macau)*

 

INVITATIONAL, 16-18 September - Marina Bay Street Circuit (Singapore)*

*alongside TCR International Series

2016 TCR Asia Series

27 April, 2016

 

After revealing their entry into the 2016 TCR Asia Series last month, successful Chinese Touring Car outfit TeamWork Motorsport have unveiled their driver lineup ahead of the opening round of the new season which gets underway in South Korea in two weeks time.

 

Experienced Macanese driver Kevin Tse and Hong Kong-based American Bill O'Brien will spearhead the team in TeamWork’s newly acquired Volkswagen Golf GTi TCRS.

 

Tse is no stranger to the circuits of Asia, having competed in a variety of categories since 2005. Over ten years in the sport he has raced in and won in many different cars and categories such as Lotus Cup, Formula Geely, VW Scirocco Cup, Lamborghini Super Trofeo, Porsche Carrera Cup, Asian Le Mans Series, Dubai 24-Hours, and a round of the Chinese Touring Car Championship with the Ford Factory team in 2015.  

 

His experience in a variety of different cars and circuits will certainly be an advantage to TeamWork Motorsport as they embark on their maiden season of the TCR Asia Series. 

 

“I am really looking forward to starting the TCR Asia Series season in just a few weeks” Tse admitted. “TeamWork Motorsport is a new team for me, but I have known a few key personnel from the team for some time so it’s not completely ‘new’.  I know there will be some intense competition this year, so right now I am trying not to think too much about results. I just want to focus on my own performance and let the results speak for themselves. The TCR Asia race weekend is also a two-day program, which means learning the car and the circuit quickly is crucial. I hope my experience in different cars and tracks can create an edge for us.” 

 

American driver Bill O’Brien will also join the TeamWork Motorsports team for the first time. With more than 30 years of racing experience - much of it in Asia - O’Brien has great knowledge in a variety of cars across many of the Asian circuits. More than just a racer, O’Brien also formed his own racing team - BlackArts Racing - in 2015.  

 

Under his leadership and management, his team immediately achieved results, clinching the Driver’s and Team’s titles in Asian Formula Renault 2.0 that year.  

 

“I think my experience in racing plus TeamWork’s expertise in Touring Cars will make us a strong squad,” he explained. “I may have relatively less experience in a front-wheel-drive race car, but the racing principles are the same.  I am sure once I get a good feel for the car, we can deliver some solid results.”

 

The opening round of the 2016 TCR Asia Series will get underway on 14-15 May at the former Formula 1 venue in South Korea. Any teams looking at becoming involved with the TCR concept in the Asian region, should make contact via info@asia.tcr-series.com

 

Rnd#1/#2, 14-15 May - Korea International Circuit (South Korea)

Rnd#3/#4, 11-12 June - Buriram International Circuit (Thailand)


Rnd#5/#6, 19-21 August - Shanghai International Circuit (China)

Rnd#7/#8, 22-23 October - Zhejiang Circuit (China)


Rnd#9/#10, 18-20 November - Guia Street Circuit (Macau)*

*alongside TCR International Series

2016 TCR Asia Series

12 April, 2016

 

Multiple Macau Touring Car champion Henry Ho made his TCR International Series debut on the streets of his home Guia Circuit last year, the Macanese driver impressive in early practice, running inside the top five before electrical gremlins and an opening lap crash kept him from claiming a result in the two races that capped off the inaugural season.

 

Despite being a relatively short campaign, Ho was nonetheless inspired by the experience, the three time Macau Touring Car champion and Chinese Touring Car Championship front-runner admitting he was a big fan of the TCR concept and desperate to be a part of TCR Asia’s second season.

 

“I think TCR is a very successful formula throughout the world and I like what the concept is doing for Touring Cars,” he explained.

 

“As an official driver for Honda China, and with the support of JAS Motorsport, I feel we can be very competitive in the Asian series, especially after the Civic TCR claimed the title last year, and the 2016 International Series has already shown the Honda to be a very fast and capable challenger.

 

“It was nice to get a feel for the car in Macau, even though my two races were shortened by issues outside of our control, but I feel sure that we can be competitive this season very quickly, even though many of the circuits we’ll compete on this season are new to me.”

 

Ho is still working out the finer details on team logistics for his Honda entry, but he is convinced the JAS Motorsport prepared Civic will be one of the cars to beat this year.

 

“I had a great battle in the CTCC last year with Andy Yan who has just revealed he will be in TCR Asia this year. Sadly I missed one round of that championship last year, so couldn’t take the fight all the way to the final round, but I will be doing my best to go after the crown this year, regardless of who the competition will be.

 

“I’m really looking forward to the opening round in South Korea, and have to thank my family and the Macau Government for supporting me to follow my dreams.”

 

The opening round of the 2016 TCR Asia Series will get underway on 14-15 May at the former Formula 1 venue in South Korea. Any teams looking at becoming involved with the TCR concept in the Asian region, should make contact via info@asia.tcr-series.com

 

Rnd#1/#2, 14-15 May - Korea International Circuit (South Korea)

Rnd#3/#4, 11-12 June - Buriram International Circuit (Thailand)


Rnd#5/#6, 19-21 August - Shanghai International Circuit (China)

INVITATIONAL, 17-18 September - Marina Bay Street Circuit (Singapore)*

Rnd#7/#8, 22-23 October - Zhejiang Circuit (China)


Rnd#9/#10, 18-20 November - Guia Street Circuit (Macau)*

*alongside TCR International Series