Bangkok--17 Apr--Stuvik Racing Project
Sandy's second season of GT3 racing in the hotly contested Blancpain GT Series Asia took place at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia last weekend with Sandy Kraokaew Stuvik piloting his new Porsche 911 GT3 R alongside Shae Davies, an Australian racing driver who is also competing in the Australian Supercars support series. The Thai driver was eager to start his second season in the series with one of the most famous Asian-International racing teams – Craft Bamboo Racing. The Blancpain GT Series Asia is quickly establishing itself as the 'place to be' in GT racing in Asia with a field of 29 cars.
Wednesday and Thursday were days of testing and free practice where Sandy got the chance to acclimatize himself to the Porsche. Saturday morning consisted of two frantic qualifying sessions of fifteen minutes each, which saw Shae Davies driving in Q1, a session which was ultimately cut short, meaning Shae Davies only got 1 flying lap and finished the session in 12th place overall, 8th in class. Sandy took over for Q2 which saw the Thai driver improve slightly on pace, however, against stiffer competition Sandy qualified in 15th place overall, 7th in class.
Shae Davies took the start for Race 1 and made a good start, steadily picking up positions. The pit window opened and Craft Bamboo Racing called Shae Davies in to hand over to Sandy. When the pit window closed and the race settled down the Thai racer found himself in 10th place. His pace during his stint meant he was able to maintain his position, and bring the car home to retrieve 1 point for 10th position.
Sandy started Race 2, and managed to overtake a few cars until an exuberant maneuver by a Ferrari forced Sandy to take evasive action to avoid impact. The Thai driver handed over to his Australian teammate in the middle of the race. The #911 Porsche started to make it's way up the field and would eventually finish in 12th position.
"I feel that we truly got the maximum performance from the car and the team, we made no mistakes in any of the pit-stops or in the race, but in the end we have to accept that the BOP (Balance of Performance) is suiting some other cars much more favorably than ours. The team and mechanics have been excellent all weekend and my teammate and I are working very well together. I hope that for the next round in Buriram we will get the chance to fight for higher positions", explains Sandy after the race.
Sandy Stuvik is honored to be supported by The Pizza Company, Singha Corporation, Thai Airways, Thaiwings Travel Agency, Dacon Inspection Services, the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the Sports Authority of Thailand, and the Royal Automobile Association of Thailand.
Blancpain GT Series Asia 2018 Calendar
Date Circuit Round
14-15 Apr Sepang (Malaysia) 1
12-13 May Buriram (Thailand) 2
30 Jun – 1 Jul Suzuka (Japan) 3
21-22 Jul Fuji (Japan) 4
22-23 Sep Shanghai (China) 5
13-14 Oct Ningbo (China) 6