Naza enters team in Ferrari 458 Challenge Trofeo Pirelli
Naza Italia Sdn Bhd today announced the participation of Naza Racing Team in Round 4 of the Ferrari Challenge Asia Pacific to be held at the Sepang International Circuit this weekend. The team had just unveiled its car and driver for the race in a simple function held at Naza Italia’s showroom in Petaling Jaya.
Driving the Naza Racing Team 458 Challenge Car, with a competition number of 168, will be veteran racing driver Erwin Azizi, who has vast racing experience locally and abroad. He has participated in countless editions of the Merdeka Millenium Endurance race (MME), Malaysian Super Series (MSS), Hong Kong Classic Car Series, and the Sepang 1,000km.
The Naza Racing Team itself was formed in 1997 as the Naza Group’s official motorsports arm. First taste of glory for the team came immediately in the Ferrari 355 Challenge Support Race for the Australian F1 GP. The team continued to dominate the Ferrari 355 Challenge series, went on to participate in MME in 2002 and the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia in 2003.
The race car is essentially a stripped down Ferrari 458 Italia running its 4,499cc direct injected V8 in production-spec format. It is the fifth model used by Ferrari in its single-series race programme. This year marks the first time Malaysia is included in the Ferrari Challenge Asia Pacific calendar. Two titles are up for grabs between the competing 20 teams – Trofeo Pirelli and Coppa Shell.
