Mizz Nina Performs at 2010 MMER

Motor Racing fans were entertained by Mizz Nina at the Mall Area at Sepang International Circuit during the 2010 Merdeka Millennium Endurance Race. The concert was proudly presented by Digi and Tuners in conjunction with the Tuners Fest 2010 held here.

Aside from having Mizz Nina, there were fun filled games and contests set up for spectators at the Welcome Centre with activities like colouring contests, dance competition and many more for those spectators with accompanying children. The side events held during the 2010 MMER at Sepang International Circuit was a success with many entries from participating schools for the Dance Competition.

A&W was one of the many sponsors for the events held, whilst kids and families entertained with special appearance by the A&W Bear as well as "Upin dan Ipin" mascots special appearances.

An autoshow was also held as among the events lined up for the weekend at Sepang International Circuit, where 60+ cars will be competing in several categories such as Standard Modified, Extreme Modified, Open Modified, VIP Concept, Best Lighting and K-Car.

The race weekend's side track events was a partnership between SIC and an online automotive magazine portal, Pro Tuners.

Tunku Hammam Crowned MMER Champion

Tunku Hammam Tunku Sulong, won his second Merdeka Millenium Endurance Race title as his Arrows Racing Team upstaged the favorites Audi Works Team at Sepang International Circuit last weekend.

The partnership between former European GT3 champion, Christopher Haase and top Dutch driver, Peter Kox, the Arrows Racing Team drove a perfect race to the chequered flag in a Lamborghini Gallardo LP560, although starting from second on the grid, alongside pole sitter, Porsche Club Singapore Racing, led by Mok Weng Sun.

The Audi Race Experience Team Joest, featuring multiple Le Mans winners, Frank Biela and Marco Werner and WTCC driver Daryl O'Young, had to contend themselves with second placing, but vows to return stronger in next year's MMER to complete their mission for the top spot on the podium.

Tunku Hammam, in an interview during the post race conference, stated that the win this year is certainly much competitive as compared to the last one. He was delighted to win the title again, which he won his first title in the 2002 MMER, partnering Tommy Lee and Briton, Nigel Albon for Naza-Jaseri Racing Team.

"It would definitely be much harder if Mok was still in the race. They definitely had the faster car. But, this race is not about out and out speed. It's an endurance race!, he added.

It was heartbreaking for the partnership between Mok Weng Sun, Craig G. Baird and Richard Lietz, in their Porsche RSR, when it had mechanical problems, just after completing 119 laps round the 5.543-kilometre track of the Sepang International Circuit.

The Porsche Club Singapore Racing team started the race from pole position and was already breaking away from their rivals before their car came to a halt due to mechanical problems. The Kencana Racing Team, which also had a promising run, was also forced out by a similar problem with their Porsche machine.

The race was flagged off by Youth and Sports Minister, Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek at the strike of midnight, joined by Miss Malaysia World Thanuja Ananthan and top singer Faradina Mohd Nadzir.

This year's MMER was filled with drama and suspense, as jinxed Empire Motorsports continued for a third year after their Lotus 2-11 bursts into flames during refueling, bringing their challenge to an abrupt, just after completing 56-laps. The team had faced a similar situation in last year's race, when electrical problems ignited their engine, and in the previous year, 2008, a broken wheel nut in the final hour brought their challenge to an end.

Defending champions, Team PETRONAS Syntium, which had Tatsuya Kataoka, Fariqe Hairuman and Melvin Moh, failed to finish the race, when their BMW Z4M Coupe encountered a mechanical failure just 80-minutes away from the chequered flag.

The Honda Malaysia Racing Team won the Touring Production Class Race, whilst Team Tracy Sports, featuring Masatama Kawaguchi, Masayuki Ueda and Adam Han in their Honda S2000, won the Sports Production Class Category.

Tunku Hammam added at the end of the post race press conference that he hoped to return in next year's MMER, but still unsure, whether it would be the same partnership.

"Hopefully, with these guys again and hopefully, we will get a better car or we can use the same car to race next year.", he added.

Porsche Club Singapore Takes Third Successive Pole in MMER

Porsche Club Singapore Racing will start tomorrow's 2010 12-hour Merdeka Millenium Endurance Race at Sepang International Circuit for the third consecutive year.

Lead by two-time Malaysian Super Series Supercar champion, Mok Weng Sun, the team clocked a total time of 6 minutes 17.346 seconds around the 5.543-kilometre Sepang International Track, while Arrows Racing Team, starts second on the front row of the grid.

The Porsche Club Singapore Racing failed in their bid to retain the overall title last year despite starting from pole position, after winning the MMER in 2008. The team eventually finished third after they have encountered mechanical problems in the first hour of the race, having spent 35 minutes in the pits repairing the damage.

"I started from pole position in 2008 and won the race so I am really hoping to repeat that performance at the race tomorrow", Mok Weng Sun, during the post qualifying press conference at the circuit.

He added that were not able to retain the title in 2009 despite starting from pole position. He hoped that he will be at the drivers press conference tomorrow after the race.

MOFAZ Racing, which features the Fauzy brothers, Fairuz and Farriz; and Rizal Ashram Ramli were the fastest in the Sports Production Class, clocking the total time of 7 minutes 8.563 seconds, 14th overall in the qualifying time sheets.

The Honda Malaysia Racing Team will start tonights midnight flag off from 17th on the grid, as they were the fastest in the Touring Production class with a total time of 7 minutes 16.757 seconds.

Thanuja Anandthan, Miss Malaysia Miss World 2009/2010, will flag the race off at midnight tonight, with 36 cars on the starting grid.

Key to winning an Endurance Race

Participants of the Merdeka Millennium Endurance Race are busy setting and testing their cars as the 12-hour endurance race draws near. The teams main concern is their car's reliability to endure the 12-hour duration of the race, which can be affected by many different factors.

Race driver, Fairuz Fauzy from Mofaz Racing Team, said that the team's main source of worry right now is the durability of the Pirelli Tyres, unlike previous seasons, tyre makes were not standardised.

Fairuz, who will be partnering with his brother Farriz Fauzy and former German F3 driver Rizal Ashram Ramli, said that the change of tyres basically means that all the teams taking part in the 2010 MMER will have to start from ground zero.

"We all have to calibrate the cars according to the tyres. So far, quite a few teams have been struggling with the tyres as they tend to wear out after only eight or nine rounds. Imagine how it will be in a 12-hour race. It is a really big challenge for us and the other teams in getting the best out of the tyres and trying to ensure that they last longer.", he added.

This year's MMER will see participation from experienced endurance racers likes of Frank Biela, Marco Werner, Peter Kox, Christopher Haase, Daryl O'Young, Matthew Marsh, Tatsuya Kataoka, Nobuteru Taniguchi and Masataka Managida.

Aside from Fairuz, who is currently the test driver for Lotus F1 Racing team, this year's MMER witnesses the participation of many other top names in the world of motor racing, including winners of the prestigious 24-hour LeMans Race.

Merdeka Millennium Endurance 2009

The 10th Merdeka Millennium Endurance race was successfully held on 6-8 August 2009 and flagged off by Motorsports Association of Malaysia, Dato' Azman Yahya after the national anthem was played. 46 cars total in 3 different classes (O, A1 & A2), 3 drivers per car, 12 hours of 15 corners, with the finishing car at the end of the 12th hour with 306 laps in. There were 17 retirements out of the 46 cars that qualified for the race.

Team Petronas Syntium Z4M car no 28 driven by drivers Tatsuya Kataoka, Manabu Orido and Johan Adzmi completed the 306 laps of the 12 hour MMER snatching their team mates Nobuteru Taniguchi, Masataka Yanagida and Farique Hairuman in their no 15 car which had a puncture and pitted in just 20 minutes left on the clock.

It was a real honour to be able to race with the two experienced SuperGT drivers (Kataoka and Orido) as they thought me a lot through the race, said Johan, being the youngest on the podium that night.

Last year's champions, Team Porsche Club Singapore came in third as they made their way back up after starting the race from the last spot on the starting grid due to a stalled engine at the starting grid.

A1 class was bagged by Team Fugazi Racing driven by Alex Yoong, Wira Dani and Faizal Zelman by completing 284 laps in their Radical Race Car. And finally, Team TypeR Racing which was driven by drivers YC Wong, KK Soh and WS Lai in their Honda Civic TypeR snatched podium in class A2, completing 278 laps with a total time of 11:57:31.718.

View the Full Results here.