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18
WORLD AND LIFE
TCR 2017
NEWS
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The second season of TCR Thailand
begins only eight weeks after the
end of the first.
In fact, the 2016 title was only
awarded at the end of February in
Bangsaen, in an event that had been
postponed by three months due to
the national mourning following the
king’s death.
New from this year are the first
appearance of a Volkswagen Golf GTi,
run by Sloth Racing for Paritat
Bulbon, and the arrival of two strong
title contenders: Pasarit
Phromsombat and Nattanid
Leewattanavalagul, who will be
driving SEAT León cars run by the
RMI Racing Team.
Phromsombat, three-time champion
in the Thailand Super Series, and
Leewattanavalagul, a diminutive lady
who has proved to be more than up
to the task when fighting with her
male competitors, tested their cars
for the first time last week.
The Chang International Circuit in
Buriram will host the opening round
next week and three of the
remaining four events, including one
that welcomes the International
Series in October.
The switch of the popular STCC to
TCR is proving to be the right move,
as the new Scandinavian series has
already attracted more than twenty
competitors, for the strongest field
for more than a decade.
And quantity is matched by quality,
as some of the region’s strongest
Touring Car specialists have joined,
beginning with Robert Dahlgren
(PWR Racing SEAT León) and Fredrik
Ekblom (Kristoffersson Motorsport
Audi RS3 LMS) both former Volvo
factory drivers in the World
Championship.
The list also includes Mattias
Andersson (Team Honda Racing
Honda Civic Type-R), Daniel Haglöf
(PWR Racing SEAT), four Finns and a
young but experienced lady, Mikaela
Åhlin-Kottulinsky whose late
grandfather Freddy became Swedish
Formula 3 champion in 1966 –
fighting against the likes of Ronnie
Peterson – and won the Paris-Dakar
in 1980. For its maiden season the
TCR Scandinavia will run mostly in
Sweden (six of the seven rounds)
with one visit to Alastaro, Finland.
An expansion to Denmark and
Norway is planned for 2018. The
season opener will take place at
Knutstorp in the first weekend of
May.
On top
Gosia Rdest,
below Nattanid
Leewattanavalagul
(left) and
Mikaela
Åhlin-Kottulinsky
(right)
Massimiliano
Mugelli and
his Audi
RS3 LMSi