PETRONAS Syntium Team
2009 Super Taikyu Endurance Series
Round 8 – Twin Ring Motegi racing course (Format: 250km)
26 – 29 November 2009

2009 season reaches final sprint for championship challengers

Preview.

After securing 15 points following their hard-fought third place finish in round 7 at the Sendai Hi-Land raceway last month, the PETRONAS Syntium Team’s preparation is already in full swing ahead of the season finale round this weekend.

With the balance of one round remaining in the 2009 Super Taikyu Endurance Series, the trio of Malaysian Fariqe Hairuman, Nobuteru Taniguchi (JPN) and Masataka Yanagida (JPN) in the team’s No. 1 BMW Z4M Coupe head into the round at the Twin Ring Motegi race course leading the championship fight with a 16 point advantage over their closest championship rivals.

Despite a difficult race at Sendai, the trio of Tatsuya Kataoka (JPN), Hiroki Yoshida (JPN) and Malaysian rookie Johan Adzmi in the team’s No.28 BMW Z4M Coupe are currently third in the championship standings and will be banking on a strong race to secure valuable championship points.

Located in the Tochigi prefecture, the Twin Ring Motegi race course will host the season finale round, which is being billed as a double-header with two 50-lap races, both taking place at the Oval Super Speedway half of the circuit.


Championship contenders in the No. 1 BMW Z4M Coupe - Nobuteru Taniguchi (JPN, left), Fariqe Hairuman (MAS, centre) and Masataka Yanagida (JPN, right)

David Wong, Team Principal, PETRONAS Syntium Team:
“Last season, the Oval Super Speedway played host to the special stage of Super Taikyu Endurance Series, which was a non-points scoring feature. This year, the oval will host the final showdown of the series with everything to play for, making this round an extremely important one in our bid for the championship honours.

“Though the two races will take place on the Oval half of the circuit, there is a considerable amount of work that goes into preparing for our final assault on the championship. On top of the technical, mechanical and driver preparations, there is always the unpredictable factor of the weather. With the circuit set amongst the hills of another mountain chain, the weather conditions will definitely be an important factor in our preparations. I am extremely proud of what we have been able to achieve so far and we will definitely push for our final assault of the season and fight for the championship!”

 
2009 Super Taikyu Endurance Series, Round 8 Information:

Circuit/Round	Twin Ring Motegi Race Course (Oval Super Speedway course) / Rd. 8 - http://www.twinring.jp/
Race Format	250km (over 2 x 50lap races)
Date	28 / 29 November 2009 (racedays)*
Circuit Length:	1.549 miles / 2.5 km

*Subject to change


Twin Ring Motegi race course 
Located in the town of Motegi in the Eastern Tochigi prefecture, the Twin Ring Motegi race course was built by Honda and opened its doors in 1997. Set in the hills that form part of the Hakko mountain chain, the circuit is essentially two race tracks in one location. The name was coined as a combination of the English word “twin” and the German word “ring” to indicate the two race tracks – the American-styled oval Super Speedway course and the European-style road course.

The Oval Super Speedway course is the only one of its kind in Japan. With its low-banked, 1.549-mile-long egg-shaped course, the circuit's turns 3 and 4 is tighter than turns 1 and 2. The American CART series held its inaugural race at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit in 1998, which was won by Mexican driver, Adrian Fernandez. The series continued racing at Motegi until 2002. Since 2003, with the presence of Honda in the Indy Racing League or IRL, the circuit has become a fixture on the IRL schedule. The circuit gained additional prominence when Danica Patrick became the first woman to win an Indy car race at Motegi in 2008.

The Twin Ring Motegi's European-style road course meanwhile measures 4.8 kilometres long and is unique in that it shares the same pit building and grandstand as the oval track but is otherwise an entirely different circuit. Featuring the standard European-circuit layout with the standard stop-start straight and hairpin style, it is also quite a flat circuit with only a slight elevation towards the hairpin.

The track is also considerably busy hosting the major Japanese championships including the Super GT and Super Taikyu Endurance Series in addition to the Formula Nippon and All Japan Formula 3 Championships as well as motorcycle race events like the MotoGP and the All-Japan road racing championship.

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