The PETRONAS Syntium Team (PST) secured its first victory of the season at the opening round of the Super Taikyu Series 2012, taking the top two spots on the podium with their Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 #1 and #28 in that order.
<!--more-->More significantly, this marks the first Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 win in Japan, setting another milestone for PST after winning last year’s 12-hour Malaysia Millennium Endurance Race (MMER), where the team ran the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 cars for the first time and came in first and third place overall. That was the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3's first ever victory in long-distance endurance racing worldwide and the team was rewarded for its achievement with the "Best Racing Performance" award at the AMG Customer Sports Season Finale 2011.
Entering the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 for the six-round Super Taikyu Series 2012 is a whole new experience for everyone at PST. Both cars were only contested once before at MMER, thus set-up and running of the cars is not quite the same. Additionally, the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 is a much faster car compared to the BMW Z4M coupe the team was running previously, therefore drivers found themselves doing a lot more overtaking than before. Locking out the front row for qualifying with the PETRONAS Syntium Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 #1 in pole position, both cars had a smooth start to the four-hour race held at the 4.563-kilometre Fuji Speedway. A little confusion during the first driver change, an unscheduled pit stop, as well as a 10-second penalty for each car called for a change in strategy, but while the means to the end was re-routed, the target of a 1-2 finish was successfully achieved.
Nobuteru Taniguchi and Tatsuya Kataoka took the wheel of PETRONAS Syntium Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 #1 and #28 respectively for the first driver stint. Kataoka was quick to take the lead from Taniguchi, lost it briefly but gained it back just as fast. Both cars pitted at the same time due to a driver error from Taniguchi, but the crew responded promptly to the situation and handled it well to keep the cars on track ahead of the pack.
After the first driver change, PST comeback driver Melvin Moh in car #28 was a lap behind race leader Dominic Ang in car #1. While adapting to his first race in the PETRONAS Syntium Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3, Moh was pushing out competitive timings as he closed the gap on Ang.
The battle was then handed over to Fariqe Hairuman in car #1 and rookie Jono Lester in car #28 as they took on the last stint. Vibrations in car #28 caused slight panic to Lester and an unscheduled pit stop to check the car set them back another lap behind race leader car #1. With two laps between them, both cars worked hard to manoeuvre through the traffic but unforeseen overtaking under a yellow flag disrupted the chase momentarily with a 10-second penalty for each car. Several other cars on the grid received the same penalty, raising the activity level in the pit lane. Fariqe got back out on track with the race lead firmly in his hands, finally taking the chequered flag first at the end of four hours, one lap ahead of Lester who took the car home in second place.
The next race will be held at the 4.8-kilometre road track at Twin Ring Motegi on 28 – 29 April.
FARIQE HAIRUMAN / No. 1
It has been five months since I last raced and I missed the feeling of the adrenalin from racing. Today, it was a superb race and I was putting out consistent lap times. The SLS AMG GT3 is a very quick car, quicker than the Z4M we were driving previously, so we had more work to do as we encountered more overlapping. In addition, I haven’t been on the top of the podium since 2009 and it was wonderful to finish first this time.
MASATAKA YANAGIDA / ADVISOR
We had a smooth weekend leading up to the race then many things started happening – some confusion at the first pit stop, then the 10-second penalties for overtaking under a yellow flag which several other cars on the grid incurred too. It kept us all busier than intended but at least we achieved a 1-2 finish. Still, we have to pay more attention and get the flow right the next time. It was helpful that we had no machine troubles too.
DAVID WONG / TEAM PRINCIPAL
Entering the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 for the entire Super Taikyu Series is a whole new experience for everyone at PETRONAS Syntium Team. Previously we only had one race outing with the cars at last year’s 12-hour Malaysia Millennium Endurance Race, which we won first and third place overall, hence, the set-up and running of the cars is not quite the same. There was a little misunderstanding for the first pit stop but the crew reacted fast to the situation and handled it well, keeping the cars on track and achieving our target of a 1-2 finish. Overall, a good start to the season.
