The 2009 Merdeka Millennium Endurance Race lived up to its thrilling expectation of being the first MME with a smaller field of cars – 43 to be exact compared to the 70 over cars that previous editions of the MME used to feature. The introduction of the Sepang 1000KM race successfully increased the standards of the MME with regards to the cars and competition.
So the race started at 1130am and was flagged off by the Chairman of Motorsport Association of Malaysia, Dato’ Azman Yahya. Immediately there were problems for #38 Porsche 996 RSR, in fact they didn’t even start the race. The first to retire was the Honda Integra DC5 of Tung Chun Racing Team after only 16 laps and a few laps later at lap 23, the Lotus Exige of PBJV-APD Racing Team retired with mechanical problems. The biggest early disappointment came in the form of a Marcos LM600 which after only 32 laps had smoke infiltrating the cabin and was forced to retire. The complete list of retirements is available for your viewing below.
It was the Petronas Syntium Team that really stole the show. Starting the race from lower down the grid, both the car’s made their way up the field and by the third hour had a commanding lead in the Class O category and had the overall lead as well.
The biggest upset fell upon the defending champions Team Porsche Club Singapore. Their car first stalled at the start and failed to start the formation lap, this resulted in the team losing their pole position and had to start the race from the pit lane as the last car. The team later stagged a brave fight up the pack and were in second place when disaster struck again in the form of a rear suspension failure which forced them to pit 45 minutes into the race. They later finished the race in third place with six laps down over the winning team. A rather remarkable comeback for the Singaporean team.
In Class A1, the Radical SR8 of Fugazi Racing lived up to the teams expectations and proved to be reliable over the course of the 12-hour race only showing minor problems in the final 30minutes when Alex Yong came in for a driver change and a refuel. The car’s starter had a problem and this forced the team to pit in for about eight minutes for a new starter. The team completed a total of 284 laps with a best time of 2:11.151 and were one lap ahead of the second placed J’s Racing Labs Honda S2000. With drift king Keiichi Tsuchiya behind the wheel in the closing laps, the team were confident but chasing the Radical proved to be a little too much to accomplish. The team ultimately finished the race with 277 laps and a best time of 2:27.263. A good 16 seconds down on the Radical’s best lap.
The final position in Class A1 went to a Aston Martin N24 which was just 10 seconds down from the J’s Racing S2000 with a equal number of laps completed. This goes to show how closely fought the battle was for second and third place in Class A1.
But that battle was nowhere as close as the battle for the top two positions in Class A2. The Honda Malaysia Racing Team lead the whole race in P1 one only to be let down by the car in the closing half-hour with a braking problem. This was when the Type R Garage R Racing Team took the lead with their Honda Integra DC5 and stuck to it till the end. In the end, the HMRT finished a lap down from the winning team and P3 went to a Singaporean team and their Civic FD2 which finished a lap down from the HMRT.
The winning teams clearly deserved their wins as they fought for and stuck to their positions all throughout the 12-hour race. There were plenty of disappointed faces as well especially for the Wing Hin Racing Team whose Toyota Altezza was highly regarded and expected to at least finish the race. But those expectations were dashed when the car had a minor fire problem in the 150th lap. Their best lap time stood at a respectable 2:35.404.
The other disappointment came for another team who came to the Sepang International Circuit with high hopes of redeeming themselves after last year’s last minute disappointment with a broken wheel bearing. Team Empire Motorsports and their Lotus 2-11 ran a very strong race throughout, posting a best time of 2:20.272, a good four seconds faster than the other Lotus 2-11 of Cartrade-ABT Motorsports. However, disaster struck the team in the 104th lap when the car caught on fire.
It was a tremendously great race with plenty of nail-biting moments for the teams and spectators. The MME Race has officially established itself as the premier endurance race in the region and the separation of smaller capacity cars to the S1K Race has proved its mantle. Razlan Razali, CEO of Sepang International Circuit could not have been more right when he said “it’s a 12 hour endurance race; its 25 percent technical, 25 percent skill and 50 percent luck.”
Zerotohundred would like to extend our heartiest congratulations to the winning teams and to those who completed the race. It’s not a easy race, even finishing it is a win in it’s own right. Team details and the full timing sheets are below for your reference.
