PETRONAS Syntium Team, reigning champions of the premier 12-hour Malaysia Merdeka Endurance Race (MMER), returns to the Sepang International Circuit this week with only one goal on their minds – to win the MMER 2012 title, again. Bringing both Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 cars from Japan where the team is racing and leading in the Super Taikyu Series, PETRONAS Syntium Team will be running the same winning Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 car from MMER 2011 with the same driver line-up of Nobuteru Taniguchi, Masataka Yanagida and Dominic Ang. Piloting sister car Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 #28, which finished third overall last year, will be Tatsuya Kataoka, Farique Hairuman and Melvin Moh.
In 2011, PETRONAS Syntium Team made the debut of the highly sought-after Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 in the region and successfully inked the books of history by clinching the overall victory of the MMER. This marked the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3’s first ever victory in long-distance endurance racing worldwide and PETRONAS Syntium Team was rewarded for its achievement with the “Best Racing Performance” award at the AMG Customer Sports Season Finale.
Two-time overall winner of the MMER, PETRONAS Syntium Team is aiming to create history this year by becoming the first team to win the MMER three times on the 5.543-kilometre Formula 1 track. Once again featuring the talents of professional GT champions Taniguchi, Yanagida and Kataoka with homegrown drivers Fariqe, Ang and Moh of Malaysia, the 13th MMER will be flagged off at 12 noon on 1 September 2012.
The highly exciting title fight last year went down to the last third of the 11th hour before the PETRONAS Syntium Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 of Taniguchi, Yanagida and Ang emerged at the front of the field. Initially, the PETRONAS Syntium Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 of Kataoka, Fariqe and Mercedes AMG works driver Bernd Schneider was leading the race when they ran into mechanical troubles in the 11th hour, giving up the lead to the Belgian Audi Club and their R8. Then the four-ringed rival fell prey to a tyre issue in the last 20 minutes of the race, allowing the Taniguchi-Yanagida-Ang trio to take over the lead and bring it home in first place.
“The MMER means a lot to us as it is the home country for the team and also a place where we have gone through nail-biting battles for victory. Sepang is the place where we made the debut of the SLS AMG GT3 and it was a sweet experience as we wrapped it up with a 1-3 finish last year. Our goal is to repeat that success and defend the title, making it a triple MMER crown. We have been preparing hard for the race and we look forward to a smooth and victorious race,” said Dato’ David Wong, team principal of PETRONAS Syntium Team.
