Amprex Motorsports All Set to take on Merdeka Millennium Endurance Race 2004

AMPREX MOTORSPORTS TO PARTICIPATE IN MERDEKA MILLENNIUM ENDURANCE 2004 AT SEPANG CIRCUIT, Aug 26 to 28.

Genji Hashimoto, owner and driver of Team Amprex Motorsports believes his newly acquired Lamborghini Murcielago R-GT will have a good chance to obtain a top position in the Merdeka Millennium Endurance (MME) race, considered as Asia’s biggest race with the participation of more than 100 cars and 300 drivers.

“The Merdeka Millennium Endurance race will be a different story altogether. It is a different game and will suit the Lamborghini,” said Kuala Lumpur-based Hashimoto, who will be partnering one of Asia’s top touring car drivers Charles Kwan of Hong Kong and German’s Norman Simon, his co-driver in the current Japan GT championship for Sepang’s F1 circuit 12-hour race.

He said the Lamborghini was being prepared for the 2005 Le Mans 24-Hour Endurance race and that MME race, which will run half the time, was a perfect preparation for the team.

“The ultimate target is Le Mans. The Japan GT championship race is not actually a priority,” says Hashimoto, who finished 12th at the Japan GT Rd 3 race in Sepang on June 19 with Simon when the Malaysian-based team put their newly acquired 550 bhp Lamborghini to test in a race for the first time. In the Japan GT Rd 4 on July 18 at the Tokachi Speedway, the team finished 15th position, following a mishap on the track.

Officiated by the Malaysian Deputy Minister of Federal Territory, Datuk Zulhasnan Rafique, the 2004 MME race was launched in a colorful ceremony at Desa Sri Hartamas with the attendance of competitors, sponsors and Sepang International Circuit (SIC) partners.

The 2004 MME race will be Hashimoto’s third attempt in the event. After failing to finish in their debut in 2002, Hashimoto finished ninth overall and fifth in the open class last year with Charles and Matthew Marsh in their BMW M3.

“Both Charles and Norman would be coming on the 22nd and we would immediately go into serious preparations for the race,” added Hashimoto.

Amprex Motorsports team director Hong Heng Soon said that this is the first time a Lamborghini Murcielago R-GT is participating in a 12-hour race.

He said “The MME race would be a good test for our car, as we need to simulate in preparation for next year 24hrs Le Mans. So far, the Lamborghini Murcielago R-GT has not been driven for more than 1000 km per event even in Europe and America. The distance for FIA GT race is 500 km as well as in ALMS (American Le Mans Series). Therefore, we take this opportunity to run our car and test all components for much longer distance. In fact, we might drive another 12hrs on private test after the MME race in Sepang because is more accurate to simulate on an actual race distance for Le Mans. Then, all components will be sent to Reiter Engineering for analysis after the race.

We are optimistic about the race but in the same time, we have to be realistic because the reliability of the car is still a question. No doubt this car is being built for endurance race; but we have to be cautious.

This will be our third time participating in MME and we did not do well in the last two events. Hopefully this time luck is on our side and we should be able to achieve good result with a possibility to win.”

Amprex Motorsports has an international support crew, which includes five Malaysian mechanics.

The car was developed for racing by the sports unit of Audi, who also own Lamborghini. The car was built by Reiter Engineer of Germany, and is powered by a V 12 6.0 litre engine. Reiter Engineer has been racing with Lamborghini cars in the FIA GT, one of the biggest endurance races in Europe.

According to a statement by SIC, previous participants of the MME, first held in 2000 included drivers from the Japan GT Championship, international drivers with racing experience in the British Touring Car Championship, Formula Nippon, Asian Touring Car Championship, Formula BMW, Formula 2000 and all of Malaysia’s top drivers including ex-Formula One driver Alex Yoong.

“There will be three drivers to a car and they take turns accordingly to the race regulations to complete 12 hours of non-stop racing around the 5.543-km Sepang Circuit.

Each driver can only drive a maximum of 75 minutes non-stop and they must rest at least two-thirds of the driving time before resuming the race. The maximum cumulative driving time for each driver is five hours. Only those who complete the 12-hour period will be classified,” the statement said.

Flag-off for the 2004 Merdeka Millennium Endurance race will be at 10 am on Saturday, August 28, 2004. Qualifying will be held on Friday, August 27.