Tengku Djan Ley led a team combination of professional and celebrity drivers to win the 2016 edition of Sepang Circuit’s 1000km Endurance Race last Saturday night, earning his second overall crown.
The Drift King shares driving duties with formidable driver Keifli Othman and celebrities Zizan Razak and lady driver Faye Kusairi. The quartet from Mayhem-FX Tune Racing with their Proton Suprima S machine, completed the 181-lap battle around the 5.54km Grand Prix circuit in 8 hours 31 minutes 35.819 seconds.
The grid preparation
As usual, there were less than 15 minutes from the moment the Pit Exit closed before the race starts. All cars got to their starting grids based on initial qualifying times. It was a huge rush for the teams and track marshals as well as us, the media.
The marshals were kind enough to let selected fans out from the Grandstand onto the grid to get closer (as well as striking some poses in group photos) to their favourite teams and drivers. After the National Anthem, the crews made final preparation to the cars. At 1:00pm, the Sepang 1000km endurance race started via a rolling-start.
The race
Flagged-off by Malaysian Motorsports Commission Chairman Tan Sri Mohammed Azman Yahya, Sakura Tedco Racing while down on power was seen rocketing on the inaugural laps to widen any possible gap, maximizing its lead during the early stages.
With Indonesian-Malaysian pair of Fitra Eri and Mark Darwin behind the wheel of Sakura Tedco Racing’s Proton Preve, the team’s pace however was interrupted when they encountered power steering and wheel alignment issues, thus forcing an early pit stop at Lap 25, that took them more than 45 minutes to solve.
Honda Malaysia Racing Team (HMRT) and Mayhem-FX Tune Racing Team which had started from second and third place on the grid respectively, took advantage of Sakura Tedco Racing’s interrupted pace to continue battling for first position throughout the race down to its exciting finish.
It was however a competitive race the whole time between the two leading teams; Mayhem-FX Tune Racing – which had Proton R3 as its technical partner – and defending champion Honda Malaysia Racing Team driven by a former Malaysian A1GP driver Aaron Lim and Farriz Fauzy in a Honda Jazz, with only 1 lap separating the two teams.
By winning the 2016 edition of the race, Tengku Djan denies HMRT’s hunt for a hat trick after winning the 2013 and 2015 editions. The 2014 edition however was won by Tengku Djan in partnership with Syafiq Ali and Proton R3 Motorsports.
The third place was taken by N1 Racing Team with seasoned partnership of Desmond Yee and Winson Eu in a Proton Satria Neo with a total lap of 177.
The Sakura Tedco Racing however regained their momentum – sparked by their motto #RefuseToLose – to finish 12th overall with a respectable 121 laps in total.
On the victory, Keifli commented that he did not expect the team to be on top of the podium. Enjoying their triumph for the first time, Keifli told that the car was performing superbly and being on top of the podium was like a bonus to him.
Elsewhere, Aaron who finished as the first runner-up said that he was happy that he and his team did what they could do. Despite trying to get close as possible to the race leader, Aaron said that Djan and his teammates were just out of reach. Farriz also said that they had pushed the car to the limit, echoing the same sentiment as his teammate.
Team Dream Chaser took an exemplary fourth place with the partnership of Frenchman Jean Charles Dahout, Ong Chee Yong and Lim Yeh Siang behind the wheel of their Proton Satria Neo, Completing 173 laps. The team was the winner of Sepang 1000KM 2015’s Independent Cup.
This year’s Independent Cup was won by an all-Singaporean team of Gerald Tan, Hong Tsui and Shawn Peh driving a Suzuki Swift, with 171 laps. The team finishes fifth place overall.
2016 Sepang 1000KM Endurance Race
Top Five Finishers
- Tengku Djan Ley/Keifli Othman/Faye Kusairi/Zizan Razak (Proton Prima S) – 181 laps (8:31:35.819s)
- Aaron Lim/Farriz Fauzy (Honda Jazz) – 180 laps
- Desmond Yee/Winson Eu (Proton Satria Neo) – 177 laps
- Lim Yeh Siang/Jean Charles Dahout/Ong Chee Yong (Proton Satria Neo) – 173 laps
- Gerald Tan/Hong Tsui/Shawn Peh (Suzuki Swift) – 171 laps
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