Petronas Syntium claim memorable 24-hour Dubai win

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KUALA LUMPUR: Petronas Syntium Team (PST) kicked off their 2010 campaign in style with a memorable win in their first-ever outing at the gruelling 24-hour Dubai endurance race which concluded at Dubai Autodrome circuit last weekend.

The team, comprising Malaysian Fariqe Hairuman and the Japanese duo of Masataka Yanagida and Nobuteru Taniguchi, in their BMW Z4 Coupe, also clinched the second overall spot in the race.

PST clocked 24 hours,02 minute and 30.695 seconds, covering a total of 605 laps at the 5.39km Dubai Autodrome circuit in the A5 class.

The two-day endurance race ended on Saturday, according to a statement from Petronas Motorsports division here yesterday.

The A5 class is for machines which use petrol from 3000cc to 3499cc.

Second in the A5 class were Al Faisal Racing 1 from Saudi Arabia who registered 24:02.32.271s for a total 603 laps.

PST’s second team, driven by Japanese Tatsuya Kataoka, Manabu Orido, Kosuke Matsuura, Hiroki Yoshida (reserve driver) and Malaysian youngster Johan Adzmi had to overcome a host                     of problems throughout the gruelling race to                  finish third in the A5 petrol class.

They clocked 23:11.53.547s for 555 laps.

The overall winners of the 24-hour Dubai race were Imsa Performance MatMut 2 Team from France with Christophe Bourret, Pascal Gibon and Tichard Balandras behind the   wheel.

Racing in the A6 class for 3500cc- 4000cc petrol class machine, the team, in a Porshe, clocked 24:01.34.668s to cover 608 laps.

PST team principal David Wong said: “This is our first win of 2010 and what a major landmark achievement for the Petronas Syntium Team, especially at one of the toughest 24-hour races in the world.”

“We have proven that the Petronas Syntium Team is able to compete at international level and we are incredibly proud of this achievement,” he added. — Bernama