Despite qualifying 8th fastest, the Wing Hin Motorsports pair of Mitchell Cheah and Naquib Azlan put on a sterling drive to finish second overall on the first day of racing in the Thailand Super Series Super Compact Class.
Cheah started the one-hour race at the Chang International Circuit and drove the Wing Hin Motorsports’ Yaris to as high as 5th in the opening stages before making his compulsory pit stop and driver change.
Naquib who took over at half time, piled on the pressure as his set his sights on the leader and 45 minutes into the race, had wrested third position from Toyota GAZOO Racing Thailand’s Norrarat Apivart in the Yaris. That battle for third continued for several laps while 10 seconds ahead in the lead was the Honda CRZ of T. Thanaroj.
Thanaroj’s comfortable lead however, came to an abrupt end when he encountered mechanical problems to his front left side forcing him to make an unscheduled stop for repairs and that allowed Toyota GAZOO Racing Thailand’s Na Dol V in an Altis into the lead.
With three laps to go, Naquib came within 1.8 seconds of the winning car and 19 seconds clear of third place winner Norrarat to give Wing Hin Motorsports its second overall podium finish in three rounds of the championship so far. It was also the first 1-2-3 finish for Toyota this season.
Day 2 continues tomorrow (SUNDAY, 25 August 2024) with a second one-hour race.
