Thailand Super Series President Sontaya Kunplome isn’t just the driving force behind Thailand’s premier race series and its jewel in the crown event, the Bangsaen Thailand Speed Festival, but he’s equally well known as a committed driver who has been racing sportscars for many years with plenty of success along the way.

Almost equally well known to Thai motorsport fans is the Porsche 997 GT3 Cup he campaigns, which is famous for its signature ‘Bangsaen Blue’ livery and is a fundamental part of the domestic racing landscape. It’s also a machine with a great record in his hands, last year Khun Sontaya topped the Super Car Class 3-GTC points’ classification after the first round and remained in the title battle all season long.

The ‘#8’ Porsche actually has a long history in domestic motorsport, as, before being acquired by Khun Sontaya, it was raced by another successful Thai driver, Khun Vutthikorn Inthraphuvasak, in Porsche Carrera Cup Asia (PCCA).

It’s a car though that’s had a long and hard racing life and at the end of last TSS season it was deemed that a major mechanical overhaul was required, including a full engine rebuild and transmission overhaul.

So there was some excellent symmetry to the fact the work was undertaken by the official authorised Porsche Importer for Thailand at its purpose-built new facility, the Porsche Centre Pattanakarn. That’s because the importer is synonymous with Khun Vutthikorn and has supported his racing successes through its in house team of technicians, so the car – literally – was ‘coming home’.

Porsche Centre Bangkok Assistant Chairman Peter Rohwer has clear and fond memories of this Porsche dating back to when their team ran it with much success. “We were first racing in the Carrera Cup Asia in the [Porsche] 996 [GT3 Cup] which was then replaced by the [Porsche] 997 [GT3 Cup] and Vutthikorn decided to stay in the Carrera Cup Asia with the new 997,” he says. “It was a very different car to the 996, as all of a sudden we had no ABS, no Traction [Control], nothing, it was just brake balance, it was a new experience and we really had to get used to this car.

“Altogether we did quite well, we got some podiums and we raced this car for three years,” Khun Peter continues. “Vutthikorn due to other commitments with the business stopped in the Carrera Cup and the car was then sold to Khun Sontaya who has successfully raced this car in TSS for many years; it’s become a famous car, especially in Bangsaen.”

Khun Peter explains the work being undertaken now in Porsche Centre Pattanakarn. “We are reworking all the wear and tear items like the brakes, driveshafts and so on,” he says. “The engine came to the end of its life so we decided to get a reconditioned engine from Porsche [while] the transmission was done here locally so it will be ready for next season, the gearbox has had new seals and a couple of bearings.”

The reconditioned power unit, built to the same specification, has just arrived and being the Porsche Importer they are able to acquire the replacement before the outgoing engine is returned. “We have the advantage as we are the Porsche importer that we have a close connection with Porsche Motorsport so we can get the engine from Porsche more quickly due to time constraints, import procedures, in time for the new season,” Khun Peter says.

The technical team in Pattanakarn, who clearly have fond memories of this particular 997, are all looking forward to seeing ‘#8’ getting a new lease of life. “The car should be ready for a good couple of years,” says Khun Peter.

“I would like to see the car still on track as it has a good history and a very good owner, we’re looking forward to seeing it doing well in TSS once again.”

Motorsport doesn’t have room for sentimentality though and Khun Peter reckons they were the only choice to carry out the work. “As we are the Porsche Importer, we are best placed in terms of technical advice and technical manuals and we receive updates as they happen on all the Cup cars, the GT3-Rs, that need implementing, like a recall or a technical campaign, which nobody else has, so we can adapt these cars, improve their quality for a longer life,” he says.

The technical team that’s backed up Khun Vutthikorn’s on track success has recently been relocated to the new facility. “We decided to have in the new Porsche Centre Pattanakarn the team that’s been with us for quite a long time, a long time in racing and working on our racecars so we are capable of doing complete repairs on racecars in terms of wear and tear and on gearboxes,” says Khun Peter. “But we don’t touch the engine because the engine has to be sent back to Porsche in Germany because here we don’t have the equipment to X-ray the housings of the engine for any internal cracks, but everything else we can do. The body and paint is still done in Porsche Centre Bangkok as we have the body shop there, but the technical work can all be done here.”

Last year PCCA supported TSS’s second round, which was held in Buriram, and that’s going to be the same story in 2016 as the Porsche one make series will join our return trip to the North East in late July. That means Khun Vutthikorn, unquestionably one of the most successful drivers of the Thai ‘Super Car’ era, will be back in the TSS paddock again, as Khun Peter explains.

“Vutthikorn will race in the Carrera Cup [Asia] again this year, we have a good experience of one year already so we like to continue and hopefully win the championship this year,” he says.

“We’re very much looking forward to going to Buriram this year again, we had a fantastic weekend last year, we had a lot of support from our customers, from the Porsche Club, from the 911 Club and we had a lot of PR also for our sponsor so everybody was very happy and we’re looking forward to doing this again. This time we will provide a Safety Car again and invite our customers to promote motorsport even more in Thailand.”

Source. Racing Spirit