PETRONAS Syntium Team
2009 Super Taikyu Endurance Series
Round 7 – Sendai Hi-Land Raceway (Format: 400Kms)
Raceday, 11 October 2009

Championship contenders take home points despite tricky race

Kuala Lumpur / Tokyo (Japan) – Banking on the form of the past three rounds, Round 7 of the Super Taikyu Endurance Series at the Sendai Hi-Land raceway however proved a challenging one for the PETRONAS Syntium Team. Despite the No. 1 and No. 28 BMW Z4M Coupes taking the first and second grid slots respectively after another strong qualifying, both cars were plagued by mechanical problems during Sunday’s race.

Despite suffering throttle problems in the race, the No. 1 car piloted by the trio of Masataka Yanagida (JPN), Fariqe Hairuman (MAS) and Nobuteru Taniguchi (JPN) were however able to finish third in the ST1 class to secure 15 championship points. The result means that the No. 1 car still leads the championship by 16 points with one round remaining.

Meanwhile, a terminal brake failure for the sister car during the first stint of the 400-km format race forced the team’s No. 28 BMW Z4M Coupe into an early retirement while in the hands of Japanese driver Tatsuya Kataoka. The retirement also ended the No. 28’s impressive and consistent run of form after successfully scoring points in 13 consecutive race-starts since the car’s debut at the 2008 season opener round in Suzuka.

Race Report:
The lingering after-effects of a typhoon that struck Japan earlier in the week had affected the initial stages of the weekend, with the practice sessions and part of qualifying held in wet conditions. However, the quickly improving weather allowed Sunday’s 400km race to be held in dry conditions. After scoring the team’s third consecutive qualifying shutout with both BMW Z4M Coupes locking out the front row, Sunday’s race started well with the No. 1 car leading the race from pole position and the No. 28 car in second place.

However, just after the half-hour mark a mechanical problem emerged for the No. 28 car while in the hands of Tatsuya Kataoka. A brake problem on lap 20 of the race forced the Japanese driver to slow as Kataoka attempted to bring the car back to the pits. Despite his best efforts, a complete brake failure forced the car to a grinding halt in the middle of the track not far from the pit entrance, prematurely ending the No. 28 car’s race.

Meanwhile, having built a comfortable lead over the rest of the field in the first stage of the race, the first stop for the No. 1 car went without any problems as Masataka Yanagida handed over the reigns to Fariqe Hairuman. Rejoining in the lead, the No. 1 car however suffered a throttle problem that saw Fariqe’s pace drop considerably though the Malaysian managed to keep the engine running to nurse the car back to the pits. Working furiously against the clock, the crew were able to fix the problem allowing Nobuteru Taniguchi to rejoin and complete the race to finish third.

David Wong, Team Principal, PETRONAS Syntium Team:
“This was undoubtedly a really difficult race for us this weekend. After a strong run in the past three rounds, we suffered a major set back here at Sendai. The No. 1 car suffered a throttle failure during Fariqe’s stint that led them to concede the lead of the race. However, Fariqe did a fantastic job to somehow keep the car running and he was able to bring the car back to the pits. The mechanics also did a great job to fix the problem and Taniguchi was able to return to the race and finish third in the class. More importantly, the trio were able to collect 15 valuable points in their bid for the championship. It is unfortunate that the No. 28 car had a terminal mechanical failure, which forced them to retire early on in the race. With just the one round remaining at Motegi next month, we will need to properly analyse the mechanical problems from this race in preparation for the final race.”

BMW Z4M Coupe No. 1 – 3rd Place

Masataka Yanagida (JPN, Fastest Lap: 1:50.442min, fastest lap of the race)
“Compared to the past races, this was quite a tough race for us. I am sorry for my teammates in the No. 28 car as they were forced to retire after suffering a mechanical failure. Actually, the weekend started off quite well as we were really quick and the race itself started without any problems. I drove the first stint and the car’s pace was good. Unfortunately, the problems started after the first stop, during Fariqe’s  stint. Somehow, Fariqe did a fantastic job to keep the car running even with the throttle problem. He was able to bring the car back to the pits so that the crew could fix the problem. Although we lost a lot of ground, Taniguchi was able to rejoin the race and finish in third place. Although it is not the result we planned for, we were still able to collect points, which is really important for the championship and I am really happy that we achieved that objective. Whatever it is, we will not give up and we will push for the final race!” 
 
 
Fariqe Hairuman (MAS, Fastest Lap: 1:54.564min)
“First of all, I really want to thank the pit crew for an amazing job to fix the problem we had in the race! This was perhaps one of my most difficult races to date. Yanagida had done a great job in the first stint and we were actually looking really good. However, after the changeover, I started to feel a problem with the throttle and experienced a loss of power. In my mind, I did everything I could to somehow keep the engine running. Even though I had virtually no power, the engine was at least still running, so I drove really slowly so that I could bring the car back to the pits. The pit crew did an amazing job to fix the problem so that Taniguchi could continue the fight and collect the points we needed, which was the main objective!”

Nobuteru Taniguchi (JPN, Fastest Lap 1:52.266min)
“After a good start to the weekend this was for sure not the outcome we had planned for. After the mechanical failure for the No. 28 car, naturally we were extremely concerned with the throttle problem that Fariqe suffered during his stint. Amazingly, Fariqe was able to address the problem and could drive the car although slowly back to the pit. The pit crew also did an amazing job to fix the problem so that I could continue our challenge. By that stage, our objective was to collect as many points to keep our championship challenge alive and this is what we did.  Thank you to my teammates and the pit crew for a really great job!”

BMW Z4M Coupe No. 28 – DNF (retired lap 20, brake failure)

Tatsuya Kataoka (JPN, Fastest Lap: 1:50.663min)
“Naturally, I am quite disappointed that our strong form over the past 13 races had to come to an end here at Sendai. After a good qualifying, I was quite hopeful for a good race. As I was the starting driver, everything was going really well for us in the early stages of the race. Unfortunately, I started to suffer a brake problem at the start of lap 20. I tried to bring the car slowly back to the pits but then it came to a complete stop before I could reach the pit. Up until this point, we still had a good chance to fight for the championship. However, with still one round remaining, we will not give up and fight for second position and defend the team’s 1-2 championship finish record!”

Hiroki Yoshida (JPN, Fastest Lap: - )
“Despite all the problems in the race, I am happy that our teammates in the No. 1 car were still able to collect points to fight for the championship. For us, we were not as fortunate as the problems we had with the car were terminal and we had to retire. For sure, this does make it more difficult to fight for the series title but I am definitely more motivated to try my best to fight for second position in the championship!”

Johan Adzmi (MAS, Fastest Lap: - )
“Congratulations to Yanagida, Fariqe and Taniguchi on their brave third place finish this weekend! There were certainly a lot of heart- stopping moments for us this weekend. When Kataoka suffered the brake problem, I kept hoping that Kataoka could still bring the car back but when the car stopped in the middle of the track not far from the pit entrance, we knew that it was over. Although this was quite a big setback for us, I am confident that we can come back stronger for the final race in Motegi and I will do my best to push for second place.”
 

For information on the PETRONAS Syntium Team visit us online at www.teampetronas.com or www.petmos.com.my.
For information on the Super Taikyu Endurance Series, visit the official website at www.so-net.ne.jp/s-taikyu