Challenging season finale for Sandy
The sixth and final round of the Blancpain GT Series Asia took place at the new Ningbo International Speedpark in the Zhejiang province of China.
Thai racer Sandy Kraokaew Stuvik was once again joined by his Australian teammate Shae Davies.
Sandy qualified in 8th position in Qualifying 1 with his Porsche 911 GT3 R. The times were close in the session, so the race was shaping up to be an exciting one.
Shae Davies qualified in 13th position in Qualifying 2, in a hotly contested session.
Sandy took the start in Race 1 and was up to 5th position until a crash between a Nissan GTR GT3 and an Audi R8 GT3 happened in front of the Thai driver. The collision was unavoidable, Sandy did everything he could to evade. The damage sustained was too heavy to continue the race, meaning the Thai driver had to retire his Porsche 911 GT3 R.
Craft Bamboo Racing team mechanics did a fantastic job to get the car repaired and race-ready for Race 2 the following morning.
Shae Davies took the start in Race 2, and after a lot of chaos in the start, the Australian managed to settle down in 13th position before handing the car over to his Thai teammate. Sandy fought as hard as he could to maintain position but the lack of pace from the car was making a points-finish seem difficult. The Thai driver was then unfortunately tagged into a spin during a racing incident. He was unable to restart the engine, and was forced to retire the car.
“It has been one of the most challenging weekends and seasons in my career. The team has done a fantastic job all season and we’ve been able to get a podium, but ultimately I feel that the car we’ve had has been lacking pace all season. We will be back stronger and faster, and we are working towards next season already.
I want to thank all my supporters for following me this season and all the years previous, and I will do everything I can to bring the Thai flag and National Anthem to the circuits next year!” Sandy says.
Sandy Stuvik is honored to be supported by The Pizza Company, Singha Corporation, Thai Airways, Thaiwings Travel Agency, Dacon Inspection Services, the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the Sports Authority of Thailand, and the Royal Automobile Association of Thailand.
