BARCELONA (11 September, 2022) – BBR has taken its fifth win of this year’s 24H SERIES at the Hankook 24H BARCELONA, a monumental run that confirms the Thai team as Overall TCE Teams’ European champions.

Despite overheating concerns, the BBR CUPRA TCR (#158, Dechathorn Phuakkarawut / Kantadhee Kusiri / Kantasak Kusiri / Grant Supaphongs / Nattanid Leewattanavalagul) ran consistently in the category top two throughout the event, eventually extending its lead to more than three minutes at the flag. Grant Supaphongs drove the CUPRA over the line to complete 642 laps of the 4.675km Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya en-route to victory.

Behind its sister entry, the BBR CUPRA Leon Competición TCR (#159, Chariya Nuya / Sandy Stuvik / Munkong Sathienthirakul / Tanart Sathienthirakul / Pasarit Promsombat) came through to take the runners-up spot. With its two principal rivals having already retired, 2nd was enough to secure BBR the 2022 Overall TCE Teams’ European championship.

“This win means everything!” Grant Supaphongs explained to radiolemans.com’s Diana Binks. “Our mechanics and all of our pit crew, they’ve all done a fantastic job [this weekend]. The car was perfect, and my co-drivers did a great job. It was a very tough race, but we had a very good strategy, we fought to the very end… I don’t know what else to say. Everything is perfect!”

AC Motorsport (#188, Stéphane Perrin / Mathieu Detry / Vincent Radermecker / Charles Dawson) completes the TCE podium. The Audi RS 3 LMS originally finished 2nd on the road, but was served a 60-second penalty post-race for a scrutineering discrepancy. 

In a worrying moment, the RAIL EQUIP BY TOTCAR SPORT CUPRA TCR (#123, Jorge Belloc Diaz / Jorge Belloc Ruiz / Álvaro Rodríguez Sastre / Alba Cano Ramirez) suffered suspension failure and a broken front left brake disc heading into the final 45 minutes of the race. Fortunately, the Spanish team was still able to finish 4th in TCE, despite a 35-minute stop for repairs.

The returning Simpson Motorsport (#138, James Kaye / Matt Neal / Henry Neal / Will Neal / Ricky Coomber) completed the first 24-hour event for its new Audi RS 3 LMS in the TCR top five just ahead of the BMW M2 CS Racing of TC class winner, Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport (#332, Michael Mayer / Martin Kroll / Michael Bonk / Max Partl). One place further back, the Viper Niza Racing CUPRA TCR (#165, Douglas Khoo / Dominic Ang / Melvin Moh / Gilbert Ang) overcame multiple overheating scares to finish 6th in-class.

TCE championship contender Wolf-Power Racing (#116, Jasmin Preisig / Ivars Vallers / Marlon Menden / Rob Huff) had looked good for victory after leading much of the opening 16 hours. Terminal gearbox problems sadly eliminated the Audi RS 3 LMS from the lead in the early hours of Sunday morning, however.

Similarly, the Holmgaard Motorsport CUPRA Leon Competición TCR (#102, Magnus Holmgaard / Jonas Holmgaard / Roy Edland / Martin Vedel Mortensen / Andie Stokoe), another title contender, had been running in the TCR top five only for the engine to overheat due to a punctured radiator.

With all European rounds in the bag for 2022, CREVENTIC now turns its attention to the final 24H SERIES powered Hankook round of the season – the Hankook 12H KUWAIT – on 30 November-2 December. Further details regarding the 2022 24H SERIES calendar and championship standings can be found HERE