Naza nets podium finish in 458 Challenge
After a month-long break, action resumes in the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli, with the fourth and penultimate round having just taken place at the Sepang International Circuit recently. Race action was spread over two days, with qualifying held on Saturday, 1 Oct, followed by two races on the following day.
Official hosts of the event, Naza Italia Sdn Bhd, entered a team themselves, and representing them on the grid was veteran driver Erwin Azizi in Car No. 168 participating in the Coppa Shell category competing against 12 other teams from Australia, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Indonesia.
During the Friday practice sessions, the Naza team experienced technical glitches with their car. Although problems were resolved in time for qualifying, it still resulted in Erwin not having sufficient practice time to accustom himself with the car prior to the race.
In Race 1, Japan’s Hisao Shigeta won the Trofeo Pirelli, beating compatriot Hisamori Hayashi and Singaporean Ringo Chong. Meanwhile, Indonesian Renaldi Martin Hutasoit won in the Coppa Shell, with the Australian Steve Wyatt and Gregory Teo of Singapore coming in second and third respectively.
Ringo won the second race of the main category, from Jeffery Lee and Eric Kwong, while in the Coppa Shell, Hutasoit made it two wins out of two, ahead of second-placed Tack Sung Kim. Local boy Erwin wrestled his way through heavy traffic to secure himself a third-place finish.
Of his victory, Erwin said, “It was beyond my expectations to have won a podium position given the unexpected circumstances.”
Present at the race was Enrico Galliera, Ferrari’s Commercial and Marketing Director, who said, “Our customer-drivers have always had an important role to play in Ferrari’s motorsport activities ever since the foundation of our Company. The number of cars entered into the new series and the enthusiasm that I’ve seen from everyone here confirms the success of this new championship. It allows our racing clients to compete on the most beautiful circuits, experiencing competition from first-hand and breathing the passion that has always set apart Ferrari’s single-make championships.”
Next up, competitors in the APAC series of the one-make championship will head to the Ferrari World Finals, which take place at the Mugello International Circuit over the weekend of 6 November.
Pictures: Official Naza Italia release.
