TEAM PETRONAS SYNTIUM MOVES TO  ENDURANCE SERIES

15 January 2007

After two successful campaigns in the Asian Touring Car Championship (ATCC), the PETRONAS SYNTIUM TEAM will be taking part in the Super Taikyu Endurance Series in Japan from 2007.

Spearheading the PETRONAS SYNTIUM TEAM’s challenge in the highly regarded Japanese endurance series is 23-year old Malaysian driver Mohamad Fariqe Hairuman, runner-up in the 2006 Asian Touring Car Championship. Fariqe will be partnered by experienced Japanese Formula Nippon driver Masataka Yanagida.

The 27-year old driver from Tokyo will draw from his vast competitive experience in a number of championships, including the infamous Japan Gran Tourismo, or GT series, Formula Nippon and the All-Japan F3 championship. Both drivers will be competing in the championship with the BMW Z4 M Coupe, which was also unveiled at the exhibition.

In addition to the driver line-up, the PETRONAS SYNTIUM TEAM will also feature a new management line up, which will include endurance racing veteran Gen Suzuki who will take up the role as Team Manager and Tetsuo Suzuki as Race Director.

Masataka Yanagida comments, “To be able to participate and race in the Super Taikyu Endurance Series in a BMW Z4 M Coupe is a dream as I am confident that it can challenge the likes of the Porsches, for instance. The team is already an established team, with experience in touring and endurance races and I am confident we can all put up a strong challenge!”

The 2007 Super Taikyu Endurance Series is scheduled to start with the first round at the Sendai Hi-land Raceway on April 22nd.

The 1999 / 2000 season saw the collaboration with Opel South Africa, which led to the team’s participation in the South African Touring Car Championship (SATCC) under the name of TEAM PETRONAS SYNTIUM OPEL. When the South African Touring Car Championship ceased, the team's South African challenge continued with the 2001 South African Wesbank V8 Championship with a completely new car, which was designed and built in nine weeks.

In 2002, the team entered the prestigious world of touring car when it entered what is arguably the world’s premier touring car series, the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) series under a new name PETRONAS SYNTIUM PROTON.

The team entered a new phase with its new liveries as PETRONAS SYNTIUM PROTON when the team competed with two PETRONAS-backed Proton Impians in the BTCC Drivers' and Manufacturers' Championship, adding a brand new marquee to the grid in the 2002, 2003 and 2004 season.

After a three-year campaign in the BTCC, team PSP returned to Asia in 2005 to begin its challenge in the Asian Touring Car Championship (ATCC). An FIA-sanctioned race, the ATCC is held as part of the Asian Festival of Speed (AFOS) with rounds across Asia. BTCC pilot Fariqe Hairuman returned to his seat in the Proton Impian partnered by seasoned Team PETRONAS driver Mashlino Buang to lead the team’s charge in the Division One category (1600 cc and above).

Participating in Division 2 (1600 cc and below) Mohd Syahrizal completed the team’s line-up for the season. The season ended on a high note with Team PSP drivers Fariqe and Mashlino claiming second and third overall in the drivers’ championship for Division 1, while Syahrizal took second overall in Division 2.

The 2006 season saw the return of South Africa’s most successful touring car driver Michael Briggs (left) in the team’s most ambitious move with three Proton Impians to compete in Division 1, a move that cemented team PSP’s position as the premier touring car team in the region, claiming the overall Team Championship title with Fariqe, Michael and Mashlino bagging second, third and fourth overall in the driver’s championship in the Division.

On the back of two successful ATCC campaigns, 2007 will see the team embark on a new challenge with its participation in the highly regarded Japanese Super Taikyu Endurance Series. 

Having had experience of racing in the Korean round in the series in 1999, the 2007 challenge will field a driver line-up that will feature Fariqe Hairuman and established Japanese driver Masataka Yanagida, the PETRONAS SYNTIUM TEAM will lead the challenge in the series with a brand new BMW Z4 M Coupe.