Hayden Haikal Vying For Thailand Super Eco Series Title This Weekend

Young Malaysian racer Hayden Haikal will compete in the Thailand Super Eco race that takes place at the Chang International Circuit, Buriram, Thailand this Saturday. The youngster is vying to clinch his first championship title overseas and, given his past exploits locally, his chances are seemingly bright.

Previously, Hayden had won the Super Sporting category for professional drivers in the Toyota Gazoo Racing Vios Challenge Championship held in Malaysia. He also charted a strong second place finish (overall) in the recent Sepang 1000KM Race.

Clearly, the 18-year-old is no slouch, having also won twice and finished third three times after six races in the Thailand Super Eco saloon car series. Hayden currently ranks second place overall in said championship’s standings, just 20 points behind Thai driver Na Dol Vatanatham who leads it with 105 points.

Vatanatham holds the advantage over Hayden having scored one more one win over the Malaysian who failed to gain any points in Round 2 where his Honda Brio racecar suffered technical problems. This, in turn, will likely be fuel for Haikal to work harder in the championship this time.

Mathematically, Haikal still has a good chance to win the overall championship title, but the mission won’t be easy given the great competition he faces from the field. "For that, I will fully focus on both races this weekend. After all, I didn't expect to be in a position to compete for the Thailand Super Eco overall championship because the purpose of racing in Thailand is just to find experience that I can use to continue to grow as a rider," said Hayden.

Aside from that, the final two rounds of the Thailand Super Eco race will run separately starting with the first on Saturday, followed by the second on Sunday. A total of 23 drivers will compete with Hayden standing as the lone foreign driver.

While this may be Hayden's first time racing in Thailand, his performance has impressed many, having consistently finished every race in the top three thus far which started with his sensational second place finish during his debut race at the Bangsaen road circuit held in June.