Vattana Motorsport drivers dominated the fourth race meeting of TCR Thailand at Chonburi’s Bira International Circuit. Jack Lemvard’s SEAT León and Narasak Ittiritpong’s Honda Civic finished 1-2 in both races, while Carlo van Dam (Singha Motorsport Team Thailand - SEAT León) finished twice in third positionand lost the leadership of the championship standings to Lemvard.
They are split by only three points, with a potential 50 still at stake in the final race meeting that will take place on 22/23 October at Bangsaen.
Race 1 – The Vattana Motorsport duo of Lemvard (on pole) and Ittiritpong started from the front row and fought for the lead, while van Dam tried to pass them both without success.
The leading trio pulled away and for the whole 22-lap race they were involved in a close and thrilling battle, as they were always covered by no more than 1.2 seconds.
During the final six laps, Ittiritpong and van Dam attempted overtaking manoeuvres at every corner, but Lemvard managed to close all the gaps and crossed the line first, only three tenths ahead of Ittiritpong and eighth of van Dam.
Newcomer Chariya Nuya finished in fourth position and won the AM class in a Honda Civic run by the Billionaire Boy Racing.
Race 2 – Rattanin Leenutaphong (Yontrakit Racing Team SEAT León) and Nuya shared the front row on the reverse grid; however during the first lap van Dam, Ittiritpong and Lemvard managed to jump ahead of the field. Lemvard also managed to overtake Ittiritpong for second.
Just like in the first race, the leading trio pulled away, while Nuya, Leenutaphong and Nattachak Hanjitkasen (TBN MK Ihere Racing Honda Civic) were in a close fight for the fourth position and the leadership of the AM class. Eventually Nuya was give a drive-through for jump start and dropped back, handing Leenutaphong the class victory.
With six laps to go, van Dam slowed down due to a gearbox problem and dropped behind the Vattana Motorsport duo. In the final laps Ittiritpong tried to steal the lead from Lemvard, but the latter was able to keep him at bay by two tenths only.
