Merdeka Millennium Endurance 2008 promises heated battle
The annual Merdeka Millennium Endurance Race is back this year and it promises more excitement in the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) with the almost 100 entries expected to take part in this prestigious sporting event since its inception in year 2000.
The event where man and machine can be foe or a friend
“As of to-date, we already have 19 entries for the open class; 20 for Class A; 15 for Class B for cars between 1601cc to 1900cc and 20 from cars below 1600cc in Class C. We should be having more than the permitted 77 cars when comes qualifying on August 29,” says SIC Press Officer Azhar Ghazali.
Last year, a total of 103 cars entered the race but was reduced to 77 on the actual race, in accordance to the maximum number of cars allowed by the FIA circuit license.
For qualifying in this year’s race, SIC had revised the quota in the Open Class and Class A, with 20 entries each, which is the biggest share amongst the classes. Class B and Class C had been reduced to 19 and 18 respectively, from 26 entries each previously.
Late entries are still accepted up to August 28 but the organizers will impose a penalty of RM1000. Registration fees for Class A and the Open Class are at RM4,000 while for Class B and C, the teams pay RM3,500 and RM3,000 respectively.
Aston Martin Vantage cars debuting the MME this year
“If we go by experience and the overwhelming response to the event this year, the number of entries for 2008 should exceed last year’s total of 103. We have a lot of new entries this year and a lot of interest from the international teams, said Azhar, adding that the entries included two Aston Martin Vantage race cars from Hong Kong and a trio of top Porsche Carrera Cup Asia drivers – William E. Connor, Alain Li and Matthew Marsh.
“The list is very impressive – there’s a host of Porsche RSR and Lotus machines. We will also see the return of the Petronas Syntium Team, which narrowly lost the race last year after leading up to the 11th hour.
Petronas Syntium Team with the souped-up BMW Z4M
This year, Petronas Syntium Team is returning with Malaysian Farique Hairuman and two Japanese teammates who are masters of their domain in endurance racing, Masataka Yanagida and Tatsuya Kataoka in the No. 20 BMW Z4M Coupe. The second BMW Z4M Coupe will be driven by 22 year-old Johannes Stuck, the son of the legendary Hans Joachim Stuck, who drove in last year’s MME.
Honda Malaysia Racing Team - These machines are built by Malaysians
The Honda Malaysia Racing Team should be favourite again for Class A. The battle in Class B and Class C, on the other hand, have always been close and thrilling. We should be seeing a great race this year,” Azhar added.
All-girls team Red Bull Rookies
Among the men would be an all-ladies team of Red Bull Rookies, which would be making their debut in the race in a Honda DC2 for Class B; featuring Puteri Ayu Jasmin, Norlina Johor, Norbaizura Ruslan and Leona Chin.
Practice would be on today, 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.
MME - PAST OVERALL WINNERS
2007 - Hong Leong Kencana Racing
Drivers : Lars Erik Nielsen, Sven Herberger, Mokhzani Mahathir
2006 - Proton R3 Motorsports
Drivers : Tengku Djan Ley, Faidzil Alang and Damien French
2005 - Amprex Proton R3
Drivers : Tengku Djan Ley, Genji Hashimoto and Tony Riccirdello
2004 - Honda Malaysia Racing
Drivers : Hiroki Katoh, Farriz Fauzy and Eddie Lew
2003 - G1 Meritus Racing
Drivers : Firhat Mokhzani, Chin Tzer Jinn and Eric Yeo
2002 - NAZA Jaseri Racing Team
Drivers : Tengku Hammam, Nigel Albon and Tommy Lee
2001 - TVR Sports Malaysia
Drivers : Jeffrey Wong, Admi Shahrul Ahmad Safian and Tommy Lee
2000 - Petronas EON Racing Team
Drivers : Karamjit Singh, Jimmy Low and Tommy Lee
