TEAM ULTRA RACING WINS SECOND EDITION OF THE SEPANG 1000-KILOMETRE RACE

Showing that power was not everything in an endurance race, Team Ultra Racing won the second edition of the Sepang 1000-kilometre Endurance Race at Sepang International Circuit, winning in sensational style in a 1600cc Toyota Levin machine as it upstaged the higher-powered 1800cc cars.

Featuring Kenny Lee, Christopher John O’Shannessy and Hsiao Tung Wei, the team took 8 hours 32 minutes and 1.455 seconds to cover the 181 laps of the 5.543 kilometre Sepang International Circuit, to cover the required 1,000 kilometres as it led another Class 2 entry, Type R Racing Team, to finish second overall, coming in a lap behind them.

The second edition of the Sepang 1000-kilometre Race was flagged off by Sepang International Circuit (SIC) chairman, Datuk Mokhzani Tun Dr Mahathir, under the rare noon cloudy skies, with Japan’s Juichi Unemoto of Pentagon J’s Racing Team blasting off the grid from pole position as the competition began their 181-lap battle.

Unemoto would have hoped to emulate the achievement of Type R Racing Team, which won the inaugural race last year; virtually leading from start to finish in their awesome Honda Integra DC2 machine in a grid of 52 cars, which in this year, the defending champions featuring the same partnership of Boy Wong, Soh Kee Khoon and Tek Kean Kang in a less powerful Class 2 Honda Civic EK9 race car.

This year’s Sepang 1000-kilometre race sees the dominance of the Class C cars upstaging the higher-powered Class B 1800cc cars.

Singapore based, ST Wangan Racing Team, a partnership of Aloysius Lek, Teh Kian Boon and Desmond Soh, took third place for Class C in another Honda Civic EK9, completing the overall top three winners of this year’s Sepang 1000-kilometre Endurance Race.

The partnership between S. Velumani and Australian Kosi Kalaitzidis in their Proton Satria GTi won the Class 1 for cars between 1601cc and 1900cc as they finished three laps behind Team Ultra Racing, coming in first in Class 1 after finishing fourth overall.

This year’s Sepang 1000-kilometre Race sees 56 cars; beating last year’s grid of 52 cars; which was introduced last year after the revamp of the 12-hour Merdeka Millennium Endurance Race (MMER).

Talents abound at the Sepang 1000-kilometre Colouring Contest, which was held at the Welcome Centre, Sepang International Circuit’s mall area. There was plenty of fun for the participants and spectators with the A&W Bear Mascot and Malaysia’s Popular Cartoon Characters, Upin and Ipin, appearance, as well as the Japan SuperGT Ambassadors, Mimi and Koko, who held an impromptu dance session with the participants.

There were also inflatables for the children, who had a fun and fabulous time enjoying themselves at the event. Winners of the colouring contest took home medals and hampers sponsored by A&W as well as a one-night stay coupons and buffet dinner or lunch at the Concorde KLIA Hotel.

More pictures at my flickr site.