On only his second appearance in the TCR International Series, Aurélien Panis scored his maiden victory at the wheel of the Honda Civic car run by the Boutsen-Ginion Racing.
It was a lights-to-flag victory for the young Frenchman who he took the lead at the start and built a small cushion between himself and Giacomo Altoè who finished second.
It was a result to remember for the Italian teen-ager as well, after he had switched to a M1RA Honda Civic only at the eve of the Thai event.
Despite losing one place to Altoè at the start, Stefano Comini managed to collect a third place that keeps his chances of winning a third consecutive title well alive.
Attila Tassi finished fourth, ahead of Jean-Karl Vernay in fifth and this helped the Hungarian to reclaim the lead in the standings, although only two points ahead of Vernay.
Actually Tassi’s margin could had been larger without a technical failure that stopped Norbert Michelisz on the last lap and prevented him from finishing fifth ahead of Vernay.
Key facts
Grid – Oriola (5th) is missing, following the gearbox failure suffered in Race 1
Start – Panis starts well from the pole and leads from Altoè, Comini and Tassi
Lap 1 – Comini and Tassi are in a close fight for second
Lap 2 – Vernay overtakes Nash for 7th; there is a four way battle for 9th between Huff, Borković, Homola and Kajaia
Lap 4 – Vernay overtakes Kusiri for 6th; Nash hits Kusiri who drops to 11th
Lap 5 – Borković overtakes Huff for 8th; Nuya leads in TCR Thailand but is chased by Leewattanavaragul
Lap 6 – Hanjitkasen overtakes Leenutaphong for third in TCR Thailand
Lap 8 – Vernay is chasing Michelisz for fifth; Borković overtakes Nash for 7th
Lap 9 – Homola dives inside Kusiri, but goes wide; Ende overtakes Vervisch for 16th
Lap 10 – Vervisch retakes 16th from Ende
Lap 11 – Kajaia retires from 10th with a flat front tyre
Lap 12 – Leewattanavaragul attacks Nuya’s leadership in TCR Thailand
Lap 13 – smoke comes out of Michelisz’s car
Lap 14 – Michelisz slows down, Vernay moves up to fifth; Panis wins from Altoè and Comini; Nuya encores in TCR Thailand, beating Leewattanavaragul and Promsombat
