Beginning 2009, Malaysian drivers will have a choice between endurance and sprint races with the introduction of the new Sepang 500km Race by racing promoter Sepang International Circuit (SIC) to compliment the challenge provided by the 12-hour Merdeka Millennium Endurance Race (MMER). SIC Chairman Datuk Mokhzani Tun Dr Mahathir said that regulations for the new Sepang 500km race, which would be held on August 1, 2009, were currently being worked out and that it would be ready by the end of the month (December). Created to strengthen the organization and running of the MMER, Mokhzani, who is a regular competitor in the 12-hour endurance race, said the introduction of the shorter Sepang 500km was also in the interest of safety for the competitors and to ensure more motor racing fans getting the opportunity to enjoy racing at Sepang Circuit. “Now that we are having the Sepang 500km Race, racing drivers will now have a choice whether they want to do the endurance or the sprint races; or even both races if they like,” said Mokhzani, adding that they would also have a choice of going a full series at the Malaysian Super Series. Mokhzani said that SIC would look thoroughly on all aspects of the race especially on the classes and car categories that would be allowed to compete in the Sepang 500km as well as changes necessary for the MMER in enhancing safety for the competitors as well as strategies to pull down costs for competitors. With three drivers to a team and running up to 12 hours, the leading cars would be covering up to 280 laps while the Sepang 500km Race around the 5.543-km Sepang Circuit should be over in less than five hours. Mokhzani made the announcement on the new Sepang 500km Race at SIC Awards Ceremony 2008 at Bandar Sunway on Friday night and it drew immediate praises from the local racing fraternity, who generally agreed that changes was needed for MMER which would be hosting its 10th edition next year. Introduced at the turn of the millennium in 2000, the MMER has been hugely popular among the Malaysian drivers and international racing teams and that effectively exposed the event’s biggest shortcoming which is the maximum number of starters allowed for the 12-hour endurance race. While the total number of teams that registered for the race exceeding 100 cars, the circuit license issued by the world motor sports governing body, FIA for Sepang International Circuit allowed only a maximum of 77 cars for a rolling start like the MMER. Competitors would then need to go through the qualifying session and the slower cars would be omitted according to their classes. Until this year, the MMER allows any production car to participate with the lowest category – Class C - grouping all cars with engine capacity below 1600cc and virtually made any car eligible for the race. That effectively increases the possibility of accidents on the track when the faster supercars – which included a fleet of modified Porsche GT3 RSR and BMW Coupe Z4 mean machines - making the overtaking moves on the slower race cars. Apart from Class C, the other classes run at the MMER are classes B and A for production cars between 1601cc and 1900cc; and above 1900cc respectively. The final class is the open class or Class O, which is opened to modified sports and production cars of any engine capacity. Organised as part of Malaysia’s National Day celebrations, the 10th edition of the MMER would be held on August 8, 2009. Qualifying would be held on the preceding day on August 7 and the official free practice would be on August 6. Mokhzani said that changes for the MMER was timely in view of progress that the event had made over the years and the Sepang 500km was an initiative by the race promoters to add further excitement for the competitors including giving them a choice of between endurance racing and sprint racing. Prior to the introduction of the MMER, Malaysia has the Proton 300km International Merdeka Race, which was held for the first time at the Batu Tiga Circuit in Shah Alam in 1997 before shifting to Sepang Circuit in 1998 and 1999 before the series stopped abruptly. Mokhzani also said that the changes would look into provisions to end what he described as ‘cheque-book racing’ where winners are being decided by the power of money and the team with the biggest budget winning the races. Instead, he said, winners for these races should be decided by the individual skills of the drivers, the commitment and teamwork of the team crew; and the creativity and innovativeness of the engineering team in preparing the perfect racing car. This, in turn, would provide a more level playing field and more close-racing among the competitors; bringing about more enjoyment for the spectators and making the MMER more exciting, he said. According to Mokhzani, the need to cap and bring down the cost of competing in the MMER was also in wake of the current global financial crisis that is expected to have a significant impact on the local motorsports scene. Winner of the MMER last year and second overall in 2008 with Kencana Hong Leong Racing Team, Mokhzani also announced that changes would also be made for the MSS under the same guiding principles of instilling greater interest and enjoyment among the competitors and fans and to bring down the costs of competing to woo in more competitors. Launched in 2002 as part of SIC’s effort to develop motorsports in Malaysia, the MSS is Malaysia’s national championship for track racing for both cars and bike and is also competed by top international racers in the region. Like the MMER, Mokhzani said that regulations for the MSS were also currently being revised and the new race regulations are expected to be ready before the end of the month. For details, contact the Press Officer Azhar Ghazali at 019 383 7865.
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