Champion driver Thomas Raldorf has alerted me to the fact that the RAAT (Royal Automobile Association of Thailand) has authorized an endurance series this year. The races will be held at two different circuits, with two in Buriram and one at Bangsaen.
The series is called the “RAAT 6 Hour Thailand Endurance Championship”.
Race 1 will be held on the 14th and 15th of May in Buriram.
Race 2 will be held on 30th and 31st of July in Buriram.
Race 3 will be held on the 25th of November (a Friday) in Bangsaen.
TR Motorsport endurance racer being built.
Thomas will be racing his Honda Integra DC-5 in the 2000cc class, with co-driver Tony Percy who has raced with Thomas before for several years and who was a former team mate with Thomas in The Pizza Company Racing Team which Thomas ran from 2001 to 2010, prior to running his own team TR Motorsport.
Each race (round) is of six hours, with the winner being the team which racks up the most number of laps in the six hours. To add to the logistic problems, each driver is only allowed a maximum of 45 minutes at the wheel and if any driver exceeds the 45 minutes, a lap will be deducted from the team’s total for each minute over 45.
The 2016 final regulations have only just been promulgated so the teams do not have much time to prepare the cars before the May round in Buriram. Thomas’ team, for example is trying to source an FIA approved 100 liter fuel tank and it looks as if it will have to be brought in from overseas. The short notice of the regulations has not helped!
