Announcing this today, SIC Chief Executive Officer Ahmad Razlan Ahmad Razali said that the circuit would be arranging a signing ceremony with Dorna to officially mark the partnership this Saturday at the circuit.

“Naturally, this is a massive incentive for Malaysia in our efforts to develop motor sports in the country especially in our efforts to develop Malaysian riders to compete in the Grand Prix. The last Malaysian rider to compete in the GP was Shahrol Yuzy Ahmad Zaini in 2002 and I believe it is long overdue for Malaysia to have riders competing in the GP.

“On our part, it would centre on developing further the Malaysian Super Series in unearthing new talents among the locals. We will also support the other bike series especially the Petronas Sprinta Malaysian Cub Prix Championship and the FIM Asian Grand Prix, which compete regularly in Sepang,” he told a press conference at the circuit today.

Malaysia has hosted the series since 1991with SIC taking over the duties previously undertaken by Batu Tiga Circuit in Shah Alam and the Johor Circuit in Pasir Gudang since 1999. The 2008 Polini Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix, which would be held this weekend in Sepang, marked the 18th edition of the Malaysian GP.

Razlan, who took office as chief executive of the circuit six days ago, said that as a biker, it was frustrating that no Malaysian would be competing in any of the GP classes even as a wildcard for ‘a long time’.

“My mission in SIC would be to at least have Malaysian riders competing as wild card within the next year. In fact, I hope to work of having them competing even next year in Sepang,” said Razlan, adding that there were plenty of local talents that could be further developed to become world class riders.

Razlan, who also inspected the track with his charges to prepare for the official track inspection on Thursday, also declared that the circuit was ready to stage the race, adding that he was very happy with all the preparations and the commitment of his new charges.

At the press conference, he also elaborated on all the activities to be held at the circuit and promotional programmes around the city; saying it was going to an exciting weekend and that he was confident of achieving the 70,000-spectators target for the weekend.

In view of that, Razlan recommended fans to make full use of the public transporation - the ERL, KTM Commuter and taxis - to find the way to and out of the circuit.

“Fans can use the ERL and the KTM Commuter and then take shuttle buses from Nilai and KLIA. Park your cars at KL Sentral and then take the ERL or the KTM Commuter to have a hassle-free trip to the circuit. I would say that would be the best way to enjoy the event,” he added.

Tickets for the Main Grandstand are priced at RM80 for entry on Saturday and Sunday while the K1 Grandstand tickets are priced at RM30 for the two days. Entry on Friday is free.

Class Winners

Class O (Open class)
Mok Weng Sun Alexander Nicolas Davison, Daryl O’ Young (Porsche Club Singapore)

Class A (Production cars above 1900cc)
Junichi Umemoto, Yoshiharu Kusumoto, Hideo Kubota (J’s Racing)

Mark Eddy, Grant Johnson, Dean Flore (Danville Motorsports)
Lai Wee Sing, Ahmad Faez Yahya, Brian Whilock (R-Engineering)

Class B (Production Cars between 1601cc and 1900cc)
Hafizi Hafiz, Faidzil Alang Abdul Rahman, Syafiq Ali (Proton R3)

Class C (Production Cars below 1600cc)
Perajun Krishan, Mohd Akmal Adekkapachi, Khairul Zaman Rahman (Lochi Racing)

It was an emotional weekend for the PETRONAS Syntium Team, with the team experiencing concern after Fariqe’s accident and delight after a great finish by the team’s No. 28 BMW Z4M Coupe at the ninth edition of the PETRONAS Primax 3 Merdeka Millennium Endurance race.

The year-long wait to overcome the disappointment from the team’s outing last year, the 2008 edition of the PETRONAS Primax 3 Merdeka Millennium Endurance race on Saturday provided cause for celebration for the PETRONAS Syntium Team. Despite the mechanical setbacks in the earlier phases of the 12-hour endurance race, the trio of Nobuteru Taniguchi, Manabu Orido and Johannes Stuck were able to bring the No.28 BMW Z4M Coupe home in overall fourth place.

Meanwhile, it was a reverse of fortunes for the team’s second BMW Z4M Coupe in the hands of the team’s three other drivers, Masataka Yanagida, Tatsuya Kataoka and Fariqe Hairuman. As a result of an accident with another car from a different class in the eighth hour of the race, the No.20 BMW Z4M Coupe was forced into an early retirement. Malaysian driver Fariqe Hairuman, who was driving at the time of the accident was taken to the circuit’s medical facility for checks and later taken to hospital for further medical treatment. Fariqe did not sustain any serious injuries from the accident and is expected to be released from hospital within the next day.

Boosted by his splendid result at Bathurst 12-hour race back home early this year, Australian Carrera Cup driver David Wall aims to make a similar impact in Sepang at the 2008 Petronas Primax 3 Merdeka Millennium Endurance Race this Saturday (August 30).

“I am hopeful that I will be able to replicate the result I scored at the Bathurst 12-hour race held earlier this year. I had the car on pole and came home in 5th place outright and took home the victory in my class,” said Wall, who would be competing in the open class at the MME with fellow Australians Barton Mower and Damien Fleck in a Porsche 996-RSR.

Nicknamed Wallie, the 25-year old driver from Sydney competed in Sepang’s 12-hour race in 2005 with Des Wall and Peter Hill for Gates Racing Team in a Mazda RX-7 but did not achieve the desired results despite a splendid qualifying result where they managed seventh fastest out 84 cars.

Now a leading driver in Australia, Wall, who was the Carrera Cup 2006 Rookie of the Year and third overall in Australian GT Championship last year, aim to do better; setting a target of a top 10 overall finish for the 2008 race.

“We have a break of more than seven weeks in the Carrera Cup Australia, so the timing of this race in Sepang is ideal. I am really excited about racing in the Merdeka Millennium Endurance,” said David, adding that the event had made quite an impact in Australia.

“To have the opportunity to compete in such a prestigious international event will be a great learning opportunity. Racing against some of the best endurance drivers in Asia will push us, but we are aiming for a top ten finish,” said Wall.

With Kuala Lumpur-based Danville Motorsports providing technical support for the race, David would be competing in the open class along with 21 other entries. Only 20 would qualify for the race; along with 20 more from Class A for production cars above 1900cc, 19 from Class B (cars between 1601cc and 1900cc) and the remaining 18 from Class C for cars below 1600cc.

Qualifying would be held on Friday (August 29) with the actual race to be flagged off at 11.45am on Saturday (August 30) and finishing 12 hours later on the same day.

Commenting on the race, Wall said: “A 12-hour endurance race requires a very different approach to the sprint races that are the norm in the Carrera Cup series in Australia. It will be very exciting.

“I am really looking forward to being reunited with the Porsche RSR that I campaigned in the 06/07 GT Championship and am excited about teaming up with my best mate and fellow Carrera Cup Australia competitor, Barton Mawer,” added Wall.

“I don’t know why; but we just never had the opportunity to drive together at the MME. Perhaps, we never really thought about it. Maybe, because we were so close, we just want to beat one another for the fun of it,” said Faizal Hakimi, who is better known as Kimi within the racing circle.
“But, whatever it is, we are together for the 2008 race and we aim to do well; and we are confident of doing well this year despite the fact that the 2008 race is going to be very tough for everyone,” said Kimi, who would be joined by another MME regular Abdul Razak Mohoideen as the third driver for the 12-hour race.
Running under team JC Racing Firstrax and competing in Class A with a Honda Integra Type R, the trio had declared that they are fully prepared and raring to go for the top prize as they would be backed by the illustrious and master strategist Jacky Ng, the team principal of JC Racing.
“The team looks strong this year and I must admit that it’s been a long time coming with me finally partnering Kiefli in the same car,” said Kimi whom before this was Kiefli’s teammate in the successful Team Genesis World Racing, which won the 300km Proton International Merdeka Race in 1998.
At the MME, Kimi has a better record than both Keifli and Razak; having won the open class in 2001 with Petronas EON Racing Team (PERT); partnering Eric Yeo and Mike Phua as is best result. Keifli finished ninth overall last year; partnering Peter Leemhuis and Tony Alford in a Honda Integra DC5.
A total of 28 cars had been registered for Class A and the team’s immediate task would be to finish among the top 20 in qualifying on Friday (August 29) to secure their place in the actual race on Saturday (August 30).
One hundred and two cars had been enrolled for the 2008 Petronas Primax 3 Merdeka Millennium Endurance race and only the fastest 77 cars would be selected as according to their classes. Like Class A, the open class would also be allocated 20 places. Nineteen other places would be reserved for Class B for cars between 1600cc and 1901cc while Class C for cars below 1600cc would have 18 cars.
“We expect some tough welcoming reception from the other drivers but I’m sure we would be ready come race day and with our combined past racing experiences, we’ll get our way around any possible obstacles and I have full faith in Kiefli and Razak in producing some consistent times while keeping out of trouble on track during the race,” Kimi explained further.
Sharing the same sentiment is Razak who said that it felt like a gathering of old friends. “I have a good feeling about this year’s MME especially being teammates with my old buddies Kimi and Kiefli and everyone knows, they are race winning drivers, so I hope to learn some new things from them and not be too slow in the race,” said an enthusiastic Razak.
Sponsored by an IT company, Firstrax Sdn Bhd, Team JC Racing Firstrax would be fully supported by JC Racing, which had also entered three other cars for the race including another Class A entry of Harry Chai, Erwin Azizi and his brother, Erwan.
Its two other entries are a trio of Hong Kong drivers Michael Lee Yee Shing, Tam Kai Wing and Chu Chi Chung, competing in Class B in a Honda Integra DC2; and Australians Benjamin Shalders, James Higgins and Ken Pendlebury in a Honda Civic EK9 machine for Class C.
Organised as part of the upcoming Merdeka Day celebrations, entry is free at the Main Grandstand for all fans to enjoy the event, which would also feature side events for the spectators.

Attracting teams and drivers that had competed in the famous Le Mans and Nurburgring 24-hour races, the 2008 race would project a different look on the starting grid on Saturday (August 30) with a smaller number of lesser-powered cars following the decision by promoter Sepang International Circuit (SIC) to allocate more places for cars above 1900cc.

Unlike previously when 52 of the 77 starters are cars below 1900cc in Class B and C, their quota had been reduced to 19 and 18 respectively with the remaining 40 places going to the entries with engines above 1900cc in Class A and the open class.

The change in regulations and MME’s race’s growing popularity had clearly attracted more international entries and more supercars including three Aston Martins, which would be competing in the 12-hour endurance for the first time.

Joining them in the battle for glory this year is a fleet of the Porsche RSRs mean machines led by defending champion - Hong Leong Kencana Racing Team, which had retained its winning trio of Mokhzani Mahathir, Lars Erik Nielsen and Sven Herberger.

“If the Hong Leong Kencana Racing team accomplished this feat at this year’s race, they would be the first winning partnership to retain the crown. And, that would be a massive achievement, given the quality of participation this year,” says SIC General Manager Datuk Azmi Murad, who is the event director for the 2008 Petronas Primax 3 Merdeka Millennium Endurance Race.

With drivers Firhat Mokhzani, Eric Yeo and Chin Tzer Jinn, Team G1 Symphony won it in 2003 and came back together to defend the title in 2004; but failed miserably. Honda Malaysia Racing Team won that title that year and attempted the feat in 2005; but ran short; finishing second overall to Amprex Proton R3. The team of Eddie Lew, Farriz Fauzy and Hiroki Katoh, however, still topped Class A.

Malaysia’s top works team - Proton R3, however, had managed to win it two times in a row; but on both occasions, team leader Tengku Djan Ley Tengku Mahaleel was partnering different drivers. In 2005, the team won with Djan, Tony Riccirdello and GT driver Genji Hashimoto in a joint partnership between Proton R3 and Amprex Motorsports.

The team went solo in the following year as Proton R3 Motorsports with Tengku Djan partnering R3 test driver Faidzil Alang and Australian Damien French to defend the crown, which they did successfully. Now, Hong Leong Kencana aims to upstage that feat with the same set of drivers.

Preparations by the team had been low-key on publicity; but those within the racing fraternity all know that the Hong Leong Kencana Racing Team was very serious in defending their crown. Their preparation had also been comprehensive. Their problem, though, they would be facing stiffer challenge this year including a fleet of equally powerful Porsche RSR machines.

And, one of the teams is a trio of highly reputable and widely experience drivers from Australia - David Wall, Barton Mower and Damien Flack, which would be backed by Kuala Lumpur-based Danville Motorsports. There would also be the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia trio of Matthew Marsh, Alain Li and William E. Connor in a Porsche 996 GT3.

ThunderAsia Racing Team would be making their debut in the MME this year. They, however, would not be greenhorns at Sepang Circuit; highly capable drivers in Malaysian Super Series two-time champion Dilantha Malagamuwa of Sri Lanka, MME 2002 winner Malaysian Tunku Hammam Tunku Sulong and Melvin Choo of Singapore.

Petronas Syntium Racing Team, which literally handed victory to Kencana Racing Team after being forced to retire while enjoying a 13-lap advantage and less than 50 minutes before the chequered flag, would be back with a vengeance. Entering two BMW Coupe Z4, instead of just one, the team would have Malaysia’s top saloon car driver Mohd Fariqe Hariuman and Johanes Stuck returning to the circuit with the support of highly experienced Japan Super Taikyu Series drivers.

The Australian Holden V8 Racing Team would also be back and team leader Mal Rose had openly declared their intentions to go all the way to the chequered flag in an enhanced Australian Holden V8 race machine.

“We are better prepared this year and we aim to go all the way to win the overall title. Last year, we were running fifth outright in my Holden before an engine problem forced a retirement after six hours. It will be a different story this year,” says team leader Mal Rose, who would be partnering fellow Australian V8 drivers Peter Leemhuis and Tony Alford.

“This year we have a new GRM (Garry Rogers Motorsport) Chev 5.0 litre engine with a
sequential holinger 6 speed gearbox. This V8 Holden VY Commodore is an ex GRM race car and was last raced by Jamie Whincup in the Shell Australian Touring Car Championship and had recorded a host of pole positions and race wins including lap records.

“Since we returned from the Nurburgring 24hr in Germany in this year, we have been busy preparing the car; packing the shipping container to transport the cars and equipment to Malaysia,” said Mal.

Like the Australian Holden V8 Racing Team, Team Juniper Racing, led by Shaun Juniper, had also participated at the Nurburgring 24-hour Endurance Race and would be coming to Sepang Circuit with full knowledge in the power of their Porsche 911 GT3 RSR machine. Supported by Paul Kelly and Craig Bird, the team completed 270 laps last year to finish sixth overall. Naturally, he would not be happy to be finishing sixth again this year.

In his bid to win his fourth overall title, Tommy Lee - overall winner in 2000, 2001 and 2002, has turned to his biking friends from Msportsbike - Razlan Razali and Australian Brent Odgers, the newly crowned Malaysian Super Series open superbike champion.

Tommy, a biker himself having competed in the MSS, believed that 2008 remained an open affair, though he admitted that some of his rivals would be having advantage in terms of horse power and driving experience.

“But, Razlan and Brent are equally good on four wheels. We have tried the car and they are had posed good lap times. Furthermore, it is an endurance race - it’s more about conserving the car rather than going flat out all the time. I would say that our chances are as good as our rivals,” added Tommy, who is chief instructor with Sepang International Drive and Racing Academy (Sidra).

In 2004, Honda Malaysia Racing Team scored a sensational victory; winning the overall title in a Class A Honda Civic Type R machine with Eddie Lew, Farriz Fauzy and Super GT driver Hiroki Katoh. A repeat at the 2008 Petronas Primax 3 Merdeka Millennium Endurance, however, is highly unlikely.

“It’s very hard to imagine we winning the overall title again. The MME has become very, very competitive,” said Eddie, who would be leading a new look Honda Malaysia Racing Team this year with a full-fledged local line-up; without any Super GT drivers from Japan.

“We will focus fully on winning the class. We are not thinking about the overall title - even Class A is also very competitive,” said Eddie, who would be partnering Aaron Lim and Victor Cheong, who made an impressive debut with R2 Racing last year. The other car would have Rueben Wong, Fahrizal Hassan and Faisal Asri behind the steering wheel.

Official free practice would be on Thursday (August 28) with the official qualifying to be run on Friday (August 29). Race Day would be on Saturday (August 30) with the drivers to be flagged off at 11.45am and ending 12 hours later on 11.45pm on the eve of Merdeka.

SIC announced last year that it was looking into the possibility of reviewing the current format and considering to make the event as a 24-hour race to boost the event’s status in the international arena.

MERDEKA MILLENNIUM ENDURANCE RACE - PAST OVERALL WINNERS

2007 Lars Erik Nielsen, Sven Herberger, Mokhzani Mahathir (Hong Leong Kencana Racing)
2006 Tengku Djan Ley, Faidzil Alang and Damien French (Proton R3 Motorsports)
2005 Tengku Djan Ley, Genji Hashimoto, Tony Riccirdello (Amprex Proton R3)
2004 Hiroki Katoh, Farriz Fauzy & Eddie Lew (Honda Malaysia Racing)
2003 Firhat Mokhzani, Chin Tzer Jinn & Eric Yeo (G1 Meritus Racing)
2002 Tengku Hammam, Nigel Albon & Tommy Lee (NAZA Jaseri Racing Team)
2001 Jeffrey Wong, Admi Shahrul Ahmad Safian & Tommy Lee (TVR Sports Malaysia)
2000 Karamjit Singh, Jimmy Low & Tommy Lee (Petronas EON Racing Team)

Maranello 23rd July 2008 - Michael Schumacher is currently completing the
track and road development stages of the Ferrari California, the new 8-cylinder
model due to be officially unveiled at the Paris International Motor Show on
October 2nd this year.

The seven times Formula 1 world champion has been involved in the
development of the latest Prancing Horse road car since its inception and has
worked with Ferrari’s team of engineers, technicians and test-drivers on honing
the car in general, but more specifically on optimising its performance
parameters.

“I have to say that, as with the 430 Scuderia, participating in the project since
the very beginning has been really fascinating and great fun,” commented
Schumacher at the end of a test session at the Fiorano circuit. “Although the
cars are very different, they both offer absolutely unique driving pleasure
because of the inherently sporty character of all of the cars that come out of
Maranello. The 430 Scuderia is, of course, a more extreme model with a focus
on absolutely cutting-edge performance. However, although the Ferrari
California is very much a Grand Tourer in terms of its usability and high level of
interior comfort, it is still surprisingly sporty and fun to drive under any kind of
conditions.”

Schumacher also recently addressed the Ferrari dealer convention in Maranello
and explained the differences between the two 8-cylinders: “They were designed
to meet different requirements: the 430 Scuderia is aimed at drivers who want
the very essence of a Ferrari and will get it out on the track as often as they can.

The Ferrari California, on the other hand, is designed for everyday use and for
weekends away whilst still guaranteeing all of the emotional impact that only an
authentic Ferrari can deliver.”

Michael Schumacher’s contribution to the development of the Ferrari California
has resulted in a car that delivers extraordinary performance: it can accelerate
from 0 to 100 km/h in under 4 seconds, delivering superb driving pleasure
whilst still being exceptionally comfortable and versatile.

Although it hasn’t yet been announced, sources believe that team PETRONAS SYNTIUM will try to overcome their disappointment last year, with not one but with two BMW Z4 M Coupes. Last year saw the team’s race car; a BMW Z4 M suddenly was hit with a terminal technical failure which forced them to retire at lap 275, 40-minutes before the chequered flag. The car driven by Hans Stuck, Johannes Stuck and local driver Farique Hairuman were overshadowing the rest of the pack in Class O after an impressive start and managed to lead the race for more than 38%.

However for this year’s MME, team Petronas Syntium has been reported to include another Z4 which has the same configuration with the Z4 M being raced at Japan for the Super Taikyu Endurance race. This will undoubtedly jumble up Class O competitors as the BMW Z4 M proved to be competitive as can be seen in last year’s race.
No official spec has been release by team Petronas Syntium for both car, but we believe strongly it will have the similar spec with the car which was used for the 2007 Merdeka Millennium Endurance.

With a total of around 800 horses, team Petronas Syntium are fired up in order to take the chequered flag by late Saturday night.

Before the qualifying session, the participating 88 teams will try their best in order to avoid elimination for the race. A total of 10 teams will be eliminated by the end of the qualifying session which forms a grid of 77 cars, in accordance to the sanction made by the FIA for the Sepang F1 Circuit.

Confirmed entry by classes: (*unofficial data)
Class O = 14
Class A = 13
Class B = 4
Class C =16

Borneo Rainforest Café, Bandar Sunway - Today marked the official launch of the Merdeka Millennium Endurance Race 2008. Officiated by SIC General Manager, Dato’ Azmi Murad, marked the official unveiling of partnering sponsors of fuel, tyres, media broadcaster and official event vehicle.

This year RTM as the Host Broadcaster will be broadcasting the start and conclusion of the race including hourly crossovers during their news bulletin. Dato’ Azmi in his speech thanked RTM for their support in televising the prestigious 12-hour event which displays high speed, action packed racing from 77 of the participating competitors. He also thanked Silverstone for once again partnering with SIC in becoming the Official Tyre Provider for Class B and C, while not forgetting to address a high appreciation to Volkswagen Group Malaysia Sdn Bhd. The association with VW Cars in terms of Official Vehicle supplier marks another step in the history of the event, which is already ranked among in the top ranking world motor events.

Experience motorcycle racer, Shahrul Yuzi, top driver for Team Lotus, Hisham Jahudi, Class C winners for 2007, Type-R Racing Team and this year’s Redbull Rookie Female Driver Search driver, Leona Chin were present at the launch. Members from Japanese Super Car Association (JSOC) also attended the ceremony with their highly souped-up rides.

After the long wait, finally a pictures of the actual Ferrari powerplant stuffed in an A1GP race car. The V8 Ferrari engine will be producing horsepower in the region of 600 bhp.

The chassis is based on the design of the highly successful F2004 chassis, incorporating A1GP’s core values to deliver close, exciting racing among a competitive field where overtaking is an essential part of the entertainment.

Lotus 2-Eleven Caught Testing At Sepang Circuit For MME Race

Lotus 2-Eleven, a six speed 252bhp supercharged Toyota powered track car, was spotted today at the Sepang International Circuit, believed to be running test for the upcoming MME race. The car, which was driven by Hisham Jahudi from www.livincars.com during the Track Day event, was showing potential to be quick at the bends and through the two main straight at the circuit.

However, no comment regarding the laptime was given by Hisham or his team on how fast the car lapped the full course.

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