There was a new face in the Pizza Company Pit at the paddock when the Pro Racing Series pitched up at Kaeng Kracharn at the end of last month for its second round of the year: Alan Lewis.

The Pattaya resident has been a regular podium finisher in Thai national and Asian karting championships over the last two seasons while dovetailing his racing program with work commitments. Alan has now taken the step up to tin-tops and he made his race debut in The Pizza Company’s newly re-shelled Honda DC 5.

So why now? “When Thomas Raldorf offered me the opportunity to try my hand in cars it was a simple decision and something I had always wanted to do,” explains Alan. “Once again offshore work prevented me entering the first Pro Series event [at Bira in June] so Kaeng Kracharn was my first race in what transpired to be the hurriedly completed Honda DC-5."

Alan was straight in at the deep end in Pro Racing’s hotly-fought headlining ‘Thailand Touring Car Championship’ which attracts the cream of the nation’s saloon car racing stars such as Jack Lemvard and Kantasak Kusiri.

However, runaway ambitions were firmly in check, and Alan’s approach to KKC was a methodical one, to bed himself into the team, car, championship and circuit, in what promised to be a steep learning curve. “The event was to be used to gain experience in the car and familiarize myself with the rules,” he says.

“We arrived on Thursday for the first day's practice and setup of the cars, unfortunately rain prevented this on both Thursday and Friday,” Alan continues. “Being new to cars I was not able to give much feedback to Khun Mit and his team of mechanics, nor was I capable of posting any great lap times. The car was snaking from side to side and difficult to handle on both the straights and sweeping bends, the latter saw the back end swinging almost out of control on several occasions. Khun Mit tried to resolve this but could not find the cause so I had to contend with this for both races. I was also struggling with the gears and ripped the cogs on second gear during Saturday’s race, more work for the mechanics that did a great job of repairing this in time for Sunday’s race, as well as moving my seat position numerous times.

So a tough baptism; however the important criteria was that as practice sessions progressed into qualifying and then the races, Alan was steadily making steps in the right direction. “Throughout the weekend my times were improving, though not sufficiently to make any great impression on the results,” he says. “I did finish both races so managed to score a total of 12 points which was a bonus. I now need to get more time behind the wheel to get to grips with what should be a competitive car. The Pizza Company team helped me immensely over the period and I thank them for their patience and support, several times as the task ahead of me appeared daunting."

It was also Alan’s first time at KKC. “The track itself proved to be technically quite difficult with very few runoff areas so any mistakes were punished quite harshly,” he reckons. “My wife came along and really enjoyed the panoramic views of the track, in her words, ‘you could see every crash’, which was probably not the intended reason for its remarkable layout.”

In the end it turned out to be a pretty decent weekend as both car and driver steadily came together to get to grips with the circuit. “My lap times came down to 1.34.6 over the weekend, not sufficient to make any challenges but a step in the right direction,” Alan says. “I really enjoyed the races and found the organization very good. I’m now looking forward to the next round at Bira where I do have a little experience on that track from racing my street car so expect to be considerably more competitive.” The snaking problem has since been resolved, as well other minor issues so I believe that this will give me more confidence in the car and its handling and that I thus can push more, and be faster and more competitive in the next round. My target will be a podium finish in my class.