A difficult weekend at the Songkhla Grand Prix for the Motorist racing department

From 17 to 19 October 2025, the Motorist Racing Team took part in the Songkhla Grand Prix — a highlight of the Southeast Asian motorsport calendar. Here’s a look at how the action unfolded.

Representing the team, Motorist’s very own racing driver, Aiden Chong, geared up in his helmet and fire suit to compete in the PT Songkhla Grand Prix — one of Asia’s largest motorsport events and the final round of the PT Maxnitron Racing Series. The third edition of the race brought together over 100 cars and drivers from multiple categories, all tackling the demanding street circuit in Songkhla, Thailand.

An engine issue left both car and driver stricken in the recovery area during the third practice session.

Aiden competed in the Honda One Make Race (HOMR) category, where every driver races in identical Honda City Hatchback race cars. This ensures a level playing field, putting the spotlight entirely on driving skill rather than mechanical advantage.

The HOMR race car is powered by a 1.0-litre turbocharged engine paired with a 5-speed manual transmission. While it’s not the most powerful setup on the grid, it can still push the car up to an impressive 170km/h before hitting the brakes at Turn 1.

The only pit lane in the world to have a 7-Eleven next to it.

The Songkhla Grand Prix marked Aiden’s debut in both the series and the challenging Songkhla street circuit — as well as his first experience behind the wheel of the HOMR car. With limited preparation time, his only reference came from the wet first practice session, since a boost leak in the second session and an engine failure in the third prematurely ended his practice runs.

The #69 car driven by Aiden Chong proudly carried the branding of Motorist Thailand.

Since the team couldn’t replace the engine in time for qualifying, Aiden began the first of the weekend’s two races from 10th — the back of the grid. Unfortunately, when it was time to leave the dummy grid, the car refused to start, forcing him to begin from the pit lane instead — a major setback given the track’s tight layout.

When the race got underway, Aiden quickly began carving his way through the field, matching the pace of the frontrunners and climbing to seventh place. However, a crash involving another car triggered a safety car period. With excessive debris on the track, the race ended under safety car conditions — denying any further overtaking opportunities and locking in Aiden’s seventh-place finish.

On the bright side, the starting grid for Race 2 was determined by the fastest lap times from Race 1, allowing Aiden to line up in fifth place. Unfortunately, as soon as the lights went out, a driveshaft failure struck the moment he released the clutch. He managed to nurse the car back to the pits, where the team replaced the damaged part, but by then he was already three laps down and out of podium contention — a real pity, as his lap times were on pace with the race leaders.

Meanwhile, fellow Team Supersonic Singapore drivers Shane Ang and Kenneth Ho both secured 4th-place finishes overall in the Siam GT and Siam Group A classes, respectively. Their weekends were equally dramatic, with mechanical troubles affecting both and a crash sidelining Kenneth in Race 1.

Aiden and the Motorist team now have their sights set on returning to the grid for the 2026 PT Maxnitron Racing Series season — so stay tuned for more exciting action when Motorist hits the track again.

Read More: PMX takes historic ride in "The Beast" with Trump at ASEAN Summit

Download the Motorist App now. Designed by drivers for drivers, this all-in-one app lets you receive the latest traffic updates, gives you access to live traffic cameras, and helps you manage vehicle related matters.