Thailand Super Series Targeting International Growth | Asia Motorsports Network – Edd Ellison

Thailand Super Series (TSS) recently unveiled its 2023 schedule with ASEAN’s leading racing category ready for growth and with the clear opportunity of a bright future ahead.

In terms of Super Car GT3, GTM, GT4 and GTC, which this year will run under the banner of “TSS The Super Series by B-Quik”, the 2023 series will kick off this coming weekend at Buriram’s Chang International Circuit (20-23 April) before the iconic Bangsaen Grand Prix returns to the calendar on 27 Jun-2 Jul.

Then it’s off to Sepang in Malaysia on 25-27 Aug, a very welcome return after some years away, before the non-championship Singapore GP support race returns on 15-17 September and finally Chang International Circuit bookends the series by hosting the final round on 15-17 December.

To briefly recap, after steadily building over a decade TSS was forced to slim down to a two-round, four-race series in 2019 and 2020 as the knock-on effects of the Covid-19 pandemic hit Thai motorsport hard, just as they did everywhere else.

However, unlike many series in Asia that cancelled their full year programmes, TSS used agility and flexibility, along with the commitment of its long-term stakeholder teams, to ensure the championships took place, albeit with a very truncated calendar. However, champions were crowned both years and the series provided its usual thrills and spills.

That ensured the series was both kept together and provided with a solid platform to bounce back last year although the tail end effects of the pandemic meant the series order was a little jumbled with the Bangsaen Grand Prix kicking off the season rather than assuming its mid calendar slot.

That street race was a huge plus as the internationally recognized Bangsaen Grand Prix returned after a two-year hiatus having been unable to run due to the large crowds in public spaces that are the signature of this free and open to the public event.

Bangsaen is Thailand’s most important race event and the jewel in the crown of TSS so there was a huge sigh of relief to see it return. Firstly, for the halo it provides the series, and, secondly, that in this day and age when street racing on public roads is very difficult to achieve (see the growing pains of the Prachuap Street Race) a temporary absence can very easily turn into a permanent one.

So, with Bangsaen locked into the calendar again and TSS’s recognition for sterling work as the promoter of this event, another huge opportunity presented itself last year. TSS’s Super Car categories had the opportunity to become a support race for the Singapore Grand Prix.

Clearly the Singapore GP organisers were somewhat short of options due to a perfect storm of the long-term lack of major racing series in South East Asia exasperated by the pandemic with its traditional support race, Porsche Carrera Cup Asia, marooned in China for the 2022 season.

Into the frame came TSS which organized a non-championship round to support the F1 race weekend under the banner ‘TSS The Super Series’. Non championship in part as the race was announced well after the calendar had been officially released but also as the significant costs involved and racecar homologation requirements put it out of reach of many teams.

‘TSS The Super Series’ certainly made its mark with a racecar entry that stretched into the mid-twenties and it was all put together at very short notice while travel restrictions, still in force across much of the region, counted out many obvious entries.

Close, exciting racing featuring a wide variety of GT3 and GTC cars and, significantly, a lack of red flags, allowed the venture to be an unqualified success.

That successful first foray sees the Singapore Grand Prix support race re-join the calendar again this year, once more with non-championship status.

The calendar for 2023 again sees TSS underpinned by trips to the North East’s Chang International Circuit, the nation’s FIA Grade 1 circuit which has hosted MotoGP, World Touring Cars, Japan Super GT and other premier international championships.

For the GT3 level cars and indeed all others it provides a world class racing experience. Teams and drivers always look forward to its thoroughly modern facilities including F1-standard spacious pit garages and wide pitlane apron.

However, what is most significant for 2023 is the return of Sepang to the calendar, a decade after TSS (then known as Super Car Thailand) first made a cross border foray to Malaysia’s premier circuit.

Significant, as this is one of the world’s best loved racetracks, a challenging high speed test that appeals to drivers and teams alike, and a prestigious addition to the calendar alongside tracks such as Chang International Circuit and the Bangsaen Street Circuit.

But also significant as it catapults TSS out of Thailand and into a regional championship as it’s a full points scoring race.

As Sepang is “on the way” to Singapore and they will be held back to back that should also help control logistics and transport costs for teams looking to undertake the double header outside Thailand.

If we include the non championship Singapore round in that list, TSS will in fact visit all four major tracks in the region: Buriram, Sepang, Singapore and Bangsaen.

With SRO’s GT World Challenge Asia primarily focused on Japan this year, with trips to Buriram and Sepang added at either end of the calender, the door is wide open for TSS to make hay with its 2023 calender and create a major ASEAN series, a yawning gap clearly waiting to be filled.

With a significant amount of team bases, GT3 and GT4 level cars as well as pro to gentlemen drivers in the region, a huge opportunity is there for the taking.

This year it will be up to TSS to seize that opportunity. If it can push forward with an aggressive strategy and work very hard, we could see 2023 being a pivot point for the championship as it enters its second decade.

Certainly the organization has the ambition and key personnel to realize that, but it will require more work and further upgrades to international level of the structures, cultures and working practices.

Those are already being rolled out with Australian racing legend Craig Baird is joining the TSS Stewards team and reprising the Driving Standards Observer role he currently undertakes for “V8 Supercars”. Of the three stewards on the panel this year, two will be non-Thai which should provide comfort for the international teams eyeing up the series.

Another plus in the retention of V8 Supercars Race Director James Taylor to continue to perform the same role for TSS.

What TSS offers also is significant cost reduction over other comparable series (excluding the non championship Singapore race which due to its place on the F1 calendar is always going to be an expensive proposition) and an ideal mix of tracks that offer drivers a fantastic and diverse experience.

These are also settings where gentleman drivers can bring family and friends to make the trip to the region more than just about the racing.

With this calendar in place, TSS must look to capitalize and grow its grids. They did a fantastic job to hold the series together during the pandemic, which can be credited to the force of personality of its senior management team as well as the relentless commitment of its core stakeholder teams. That provides a platform to build on.

However, it’s is hard to see much GT3 and GT4 level growth coming domestically, the categories’ main players such as Toyota Gazoo, B-Quik Absolute and AAS Porsche have all been plying their trade in the series for the full decade, only YK Motorsport is a top level recent entry.

So, it’s going to be up to TSS to attract top level Asian teams and this is where the Singapore race a key stepping stone to the future. Notably Viper Niza Racing brought its Aston Martins back with the series to contest the final rounds last year. Triple Eight will join the grid this year as will a fascinating new Filipino operation, C&C Motorsport which will partner with a long-established Thai team, KS Racing.

TSS must ensure it can roadshow itself to the teams from far and wide that will take part this year and seduce them on the merits of their series.

However, with very few of the Thai teams currently contesting TSS able to cater for international drivers that want arrive and drive, that is a clear shortcoming that TSS must address, although that offers an opportunity for major teams in Asia to come in, plug the gaps and create a revenue model.

Or joint ventures. B-Quik Racing’s recent partnership with global powerhouse Absolute Racing swiftly very opened the door to a stream of international drivers coming into the team.

TSS must now make a strong case for the continent’s leading customer focused teams, such as AAI and Craft-Bamboo, both of which raced in Singapore last year, to join the full series.

So, 2023 looks to be an exciting year for TSS and the platform is in place for the series to take the big step from dominant domestic powerhouse to international status. And it all starts this coming weekend in Buriram!