Bangsaen Grand Prix 2025, running July 2 to July 6 at the Bangsaen Street Circuit, reasserted its place as Southeast Asia’s premier beachside motorsport festival. Launched in 2007 and growing ever since, it now draws thousands to Chonburi’s palm-fringed shoreline for a weeklong spectacle that serves as both a showcase for the Thailand Super Series and an invitation for international talent. Why this event matters? Few venues combine tough street-race engineering challenges with such a festive, tropical vibe. The circuit’s layout is ringed by sand, surf, and constant crowd energy, putting both mechanical reliability and driver concentration to the absolute test.

Pre-race buzz focused on B-Quik Absolute Racing’s momentum in GT3 and whether Alex Sawer could keep his Formula 4 SEA lead. Paddock talk centered around how this year’s mix of monsoon weather, fresh Balance of Performance tweaks, and a fresh batch of Pro-Am pairings would shake up grids. Technical chatter circled cooling: drivers and engineers both braced for how the circuit’s short straights and knockdown hairpins would eat into brake and tire margins. There was a shared curiosity about how much the notorious sandy run-off and beachside humidity might sneak into play, especially for teams that arrived from less abrasive venues.

What actually unfolded was classic Bangsaen: Saturday’s races opened on a water-slicked circuit, forcing early wet tire gambles just as grip began to return with the midday sun. Akash Nandy’s composed drive for B-Quik Absolute Racing saw him convert pole into a tactical win, deftly managing both tire changes and a late safety car reset. Meanwhile, co-driver Deng Yi shrugged off a time penalty to preserve their advantage as rivals slipped out with errors and contacts. By Sunday, the track had dried, but a late full-course yellow bunched the field for a tense finish, and it was again Nandy and Deng who kept control, taking the GT3 win by more than five seconds. Porsche Carrera Cup Asia’s feature belonged to Dylan Pereira, who posted a best lap of 1:34.392, just fending off Rodrigo Dias Almeida and Dylan Yip. Alex Sawer extended his F4SEA championship run with a commanding Race 2 win, rewarding measured aggression on a circuit where bravery can backfire fast.

Ambient and surface conditions became a story of their own. Sea breezes changed little about temperature but, as the weekend rolled on, sand drifted from the adjacent beach onto the racing line and into pit lane areas, accelerating stone-chipping and forcing teams to clean radiators and brake ducts at every service. As someone who’s obsessed over paint protection film, I kept clocking how the abrasive mix of road grit and sand scuffed even high-grade bodywork on street cars, that’s a recipe for micro-scratches and dulling, a challenge not unlike what teams here face race after race. The surface’s beachside evolution demanded constant vigilance from engineers, especially around cooling and brake longevity, and forced race control to keep an eye on traction in the slow zones.

Bangsaen 2025 delivered all the theater it promised; fewer incidents than expected, but nonstop tension, and a showcase of why technical adaptation matters on a street circuit just meters from the Gulf of Thailand. Box score: B-Quik Absolute Racing clinched the overall GT3 win; Dylan Pereira topped the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia with a 1:34.392; Alex Sawer won Formula 4 SEA Race 2; and the circuit again earned its reputation as a true test for those willing to brave the sand, heat, and high stakes of beachfront street racing.

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Wessen Char is UPPF’s petrolhead who still mourns the loss of Saab (and drove her 9-5 NG till 2025). She travels between US and Europe to cover auto events. She acknowledges the chic tech of EVs but wonders if the inexorable move to everything digital is ultimately all-better. Analogue had more soul somehow :)


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