PETRONAS Syntium  Team
PETRONAS Primax 3 Merdeka Millennium Endurance Race
Raceday
Saturday,30 August 2008

Final Hour: Johannes completes unfinished business and brings the BMW Z4M Coupe home in 4th

The PETRONAS Syntium Team's challenge was left to the sole remaining BMW Z4M Coupe in the hands of Johannes Stuck for the final hour of the 12-hour race, driving for his second time at the PETRONAS Primax 3 Merdeka Millennium Endurance race. 

Taking off from fifth at the start of the hour, Johannes was able to continue the same pace as his teammates to push for positions throughout the stint. Within several laps of the hour, Johannes was already on the hunt for 4th and had forced the gap down to the No. 14 Porsche 996 GT3 down to within 25 seconds. It did not take him long as on lap 287*, the 22-year old managed to overtake the Porsche to claim fourth. 

Though he continued to push to try and catch the car ahead of him, the gap had been too considerable with over 3-laps especially with less than an hour remaining in the race. In spite of the obvious disadvantage, Johannes continued his pace, lapping with the same times he had started the hour. 

After overcoming the mechanical gremlins that forced the No. 28 down the order in the earlier phases of the race, on the 12th hour and 288 laps completed (leader had completed 308 laps), Johannes resolved his unfinished business from the team's outing at the race last year to bring the BMW Z4M Coupe home to finish in an impressive fourth.  

Hour 10: Taniguchi and Johannes continues unrelented as No. 28 flies through the field

With the 12-hour race reaching its zenith with less than two hours remaining, the sole remaining BMW Z4M Coupe with Taniguchi at the reigns continued its unrelenting pace, posting competitive lap times under the 2minute 15second mark. Still in hot pursuit of the Porsche 996 GT3 car ahead of him, Taniguchi had closed the gap to under 2 laps by the half-way mark of the hour.

The session also witnessed a second safety car period when an incident involving another car brought proceedings to a halt, enabling Taniguchi to close the gap down to the leading pack.

After resuming on normal race pace on lap 266*, Taniguchi was able to gain another position to move into overall 5th of the race, helped in part as the Porsche pitted on lap 272*. Despite that, the Japanese continued to push through the laps, enabling him to catch the No. 14 Porsche 996 GT3 ahead of him. A pit stop nearing the close of the hour on lap 278* brought Johannes Stuck back into the driver seat of the No. 28 BMW Z4M Coupe to continue the team's challenge in the race.

With the race moving into its 11th hour having completed 280* laps, Johannes retained the team's 5th position and had started to close the gap to the No. 14 Porsche 996 GT3 ahead of him to just over half a minute.

(* lap of leader)

Hour 9: Orido and Taniguchi continue to fly PST colours

As the race moves into its final few hours, the tension mounts with the car No. 28 became the remaining car in the team's challenge in this year's PETRONAS Primax 3 Merdeka Millennium Endurance race following the premature retirement of the No. 20 car in the previous hour. We are happy to report that Fariqe Hairuman was not seriously injured in the collision and is in stable condition.

Still at the reigns of the No. 28 at the start of the hour was Manabu Orido who had put in similar lap times to the day time to enable the Japanese to close the gap to the Porsche 996  GT3 No. 14 car to just under 3 laps.

Nevertheless, through Orido's unrelenting pace, the Japanese had set the stage for his teammate Nobuteru Taniguchi who took over midway through the hour on lap 246*. By the close of the hour, Taniguchi had continued on a similar pace to Orido and brought the gap down to about two and a half laps to the Porsche while in 6th position. By the close of the hour with 255* laps completed, the No. 28 was already up by one position to 6th.

(* lap of leader)

Hour 8: More drama as No. 20 BMW Z4M Coupe retires, Fariqe injured in collision

With nightfall the drama continues for the PETRONAS Syntium Team with Johannes Stuck still pursuing the leaders from 7th position. Meanwhile, with Fariqe Hairuman taking over the reigns of the No. 20 BMW Z4M Coupe, the 24-year old was slowly making his way up through the field having again lost some positions due to the stop in the previous hour.

Midway through the hour, Fariqe had been able to gain several positions to push himself up to 15th (11th in class) after having started the hour from 18th. However, on lap 221*, drama once again struck the team as Fariqe was involved in an accident when he was hit from behind by another car, which saw the No. 20 car stranded in the middle of the track. As a result of the incident, race officials deployed the safety car. As a result of the accident, Fariqe, who was injured was rushed to the circuit's medical centre. His condition is reported to be stable.

Meanwhile, with the race resuming on the 224th lap, Manabu Orido was the sole representative of the team as the Japanese continued to forge his way through the field. By the close of the 8th hour, the Japanese in the No. 28 car had maintained his position in 7th, though slowly closing the gap the car ahead of him.

(*lap of leader)
 

Hour 7: PST and BMW Z4M Coupes continue assault in seventh hour

The seventh hour of the race saw a massive fight back by the PETRONAS Syntium Team as both cars launched an assault in an attempt to regain as many positions as possible. Leading the fight for the team was Tatsuya Kataoka who made up considerable ground as the Japanese fought back with competitive lap times and had by the mid-way point of the hour pushed himself up to 8th.

Meanwhile,with Johannes Stuck taking over driver duties from Taniguchi not long after the hour had started, the 22-year old also posted lap times comparable to his teammate in the sister BMW Z4M Coupe. It did not take Johannes long to build on Taniguchi's efforts and was also up the order into 12th by the 192nd lap.

However, the mechanical gremlins returned to haunt the No. 20 car as a pit stop on the 194th* lap saw the team work frantically to make the necessary repairs before sending Fariqe Hairuman into the field, having to work hard to regain the ground lost during the lengthy stop.

With darkness enveloping the Sepang circuit as the race moves into its eighth hour, the No. 28 car under the hands of Johannes Stuck was in 8th (8th in class) and the No. 20 with Fariqe were down in 19th (13th in class).

(* lap of the leader)

Hour 6: Yanagida mounts fight-back, Orido hands over to Taniguchi

Despite facing mechanical gremlins in the previous hour that robbed the team's BMW Z4M Coupe No. 20 off valuable positions, Masataka Yanagida went on the offensive as the team's Japanese ace immediately clocked in lap times that were comparatively quicker to some of the drivers ahead of him to try and regain as much ground as possible. 20 minutes into the hour, the 29-year old had already forged his way back up the field and was already up to 13th by the 163rd* lap of the race. 

Meanwhile, a driver change after the start of the hour saw Manabu Orido hand over the reigns to Nobuteru Taniguchi, who also posted in successive quick laps to also forge his way through the field. He too had also gained a position and was up to 19th by the half-way mark of the hour. Both drivers' positions continued to change as Yanagida and Taniguchi posted consistent lap times under the 2 minute 15second mark through the bulk of the stint. 

Towards the close of the hour signalling the start of the second half of the race and 178 laps completed, Yanagida had already moved himself up the order to 9th overall and 8th in class, while Taniguchi was already up to 16th and 12th in class. 

Pitting in for fresh tyres and fuel at the cusp of the start of the 7th hour, the stop also saw Yanagida hand over the No. 20 BMW Z4M Coupe over to Tatsuya Kataoka to carry on the team's challenge. 

(* lap of the leader) 

Hour 5: Mechanical gremlins rears its ugly head in the fifth hour

The fifth hour of the race was one that began with tyre, fuel and driver changes for PETRONAS Syntium Team's two BMW Z4M Coupes. The first to make the change was the No. 20 with Tatsuya Kataoka pitting in on lap 122 to hand over the car to Fariqe Hairuman. Rejoining in fifth, the Malaysian had to fight hard with the changing weather conditions as the temperatures began to drop at the Sepang circuit with the prospect of rain in the offing. 

Not long after the sister BMW Z4M Coupe also pitted, with Johannes this time pitting from 24th to hand over the driver duties to Manabu Orido who immediately posted in a succession of quick laps to move himself up the order. 

However, barely 20 minutes into the hour, a mechanical problem forced Fariqe in the No. 20 BMW Z4M Coupe to pit prematurely and the team to frantically work to fix the problem on the car. As the hour began to draw to a close, a lengthy stop to resolve the problem unfortunately saw the No. 20 BMW Z4M Coupe drop down the order. After more than 30 minutes in the pits and barely 15 minutes left in the hour, Masataka Yanagida was able to rejoin the race down in 19th position, 18 laps adrift of the leaders. 

Meanwhile, a succession of quick laps by Orido saw the Japanese ace slowly make his way up back the order as he moved up to overall 20th by the close of the hour and within reach of fellow teammate Yanagida in the sister BMW Z4M Coupe. As the race entered its sixth hour, the No. 20 and 28 cars were in 19th and 20th overall, 12th and 13th in Class, respectively.
 

Hour 4: Taniguchi and Johannes makes up ground as Fariqe, Yanagida and Kataoka battle in fourth

Hour four of the 12-hour race started with changes in the line up for both PETRONAS Syntium Team's BMW Z4M Coupe as pitting in at the start of the hour was car No. 20 as Fariqe Hairuman handed over the driver duties on to teammate Masataka Yanagida on the 101st lap. Rejoining in fifth, the Japanese was able to regain the position several laps later to retake fourth. Not long later it was the No. 28 car's turn as with Taniguchi pitting in for another change with Johannes Stuck taking over the wheel of the BMW Z4M Coupe. 

The race was on for Johannes as he fought to regain valuable positions up through the field, that by the mid-way point of the hour, the No. 28 had moved up to overall 27th position and 15th in the class. 

Also pitting after the midway point of the hour was the No. 20 BMW Z4M Coupe, with Tatsuya Kataoka taking over from Masataka Yanagida. Rejoining again in 5th, Kataoka had to work his way through the drivers from the other classes to try and regain 4th, which he did on lap 116. As for Johannes, a series of fast laps matching that of the leaders saw the 22-year old further close the gap to within 14 laps. 

The close of the 4th hour and a third of the race completed saw the No. 20 back with Kataoka in 4th and the No. 28 with Johannes in 26th position (15th in class).  

Hour 3: PETRONAS Syntium Team continues as battle against the clock heats up

The third hour of the 12-hour endurance saw once again more changes to the classification with the various pit stops that were happening throughout the field. Still in pursuit of the leaders and trying to close the gap was Masataka Yanagida who opened the hour while still in 4th.position. It would not be long after the start of the hour when the team made another stop for the No. 20 BMW Z4M Coupe. Taking over driver duties from Yanagida was teammate Tatsuya Kataoka for his second stint of the race on the 74th lap. A quick stop ensured that Kataoka was able to rejoin while still in 4th.

Meanwhile for the No. 28 sister BMW Z4M Coupe, things remained relatively unchanged as Manabu Orido continued his pursuit to close the gap to rest of the Class O field. Nevertheless, the Japanese was considerably faster clocking lap times that were comparable to the leaders. Just short of the midway point of the hour, Orido came in for a driver change as the team were forced into a lengthy stop for minor adjustments to the car. Rejoining in 16th position in the class with Nobuteru Taniguchi at the wheels of the No. 28 after the stop, the Japanese continued his unrelenting pace to try to minimise the 16-lap gap he had to the leaders.

Two-thirds into the hour, the No. 20 stopped again, this time for fuel and a driver change, with Kataoka hnading over the reigns of the race to Fariqe Hairuman. Rejoining in 5th, the Malaysian had to fight hard with the traffic but managed to regain 4th position by the 91st lap. As for the No. 28 sister BMW Z4M Coupe, Taniguchi was already making considerable ground as he drove his way up through the field.

After completing 3 hours and over 100 laps, the No. 20 remained in 4th and the No. 28 in 15th position in the class.

Hour 2: Fariqe and Yanagida swap seats as Johannes and Orido continue pursuit

With positions relatively unchanged, PETRONAS Syntium Team's Fariqe Hairuman continued the team's pursuit within reach of the leading pack as the Malaysian posted consistent laps through his stint in the No. 20 BMW Z4M Coupe with Johannes still in hot pursuit of the rest of the field in the sister No. 28 BMW Z4M Coupe, As the cars ahead of him pitting, the Malaysian had been able to gain a position in the race and had moved into 4th in the first part of the hour.

Having completed almost 20 minutes into the hour, there was another stop for the No. 20, this time for fuel and driver change, with Masataka Yanagida taking over from Fariqe on lap 57. After a quick stop, the Japanese ace was able to rejoin the race and maintain 4th position.

A lap later it was the turn of the No. 28 with Johannes handing over the driver role to experience Japanese endurance driver, Manabu Orido for his first stint in the race, though there was much to do for the No. 28 BMW Z4M Coupe as the trio sought to minimise the deficit after the lengthy repairs in the pits earlier in the race

By the close of the hour, Yanagida had managed to close the gap to the leaders slightly as the Japanese continue his pursuit while in 4th position. Meanwhile, posting similar lap times to Yanagida, Manabu Orido had it all still to do as he fought his way through the field considerably further down the field.
 

Hour 1: Yanagida, Kataoka and Fariqe pursue field as repairs continue for No. 28 BMW Z4M Coupe

The start of the hour saw Masataka Yanagida continue to pursue the leaders from 5th position as the Japanese fought to maintain a consistent pace through the field. With the No 28 BMW Z4M Coupe still in the pits as the mechanics worked to repair the problem, the No. 20 was the sole BMW Z4M Coupe still fighting for position.

15 minutes into the hour, the team made the first of its pit stops, for fuel, fresh tyres and a driver change. Taking over driver duties for the team in the No. 20 was Tatsuya Kataoka, who was able to maintain the team's position as the Japanese rejoined in P5.

With almost two-thirds of the hour completed in the sweltering heat of Sepang, the team's pursuit returned to two cars as Johannes Stuck rejoined the race with the repairs completed for the No. 28 BMW Z4M Coupe. However, Stuck had to rejoin way down the order while Tatsuya Kataoka in the No. 20 BMW Z4M Coupe retained his 5th place in hot pursuit of the leaders.

As the hour mark reached its close, the No. 20 made another pitstop,this time for a change in drivers with Tatsuya Kataoka handing over the driver duties to Malaysian Fariqe Hairuman, who was able to rejoin the race in 5th position. Meanwhile, behind them, the team's sister BMW Z4M Coupe continued its hot pursuit with Johannes at the wheels as the No. 28 fought its way back up the field, despite losing considerable ground after making the repairs to the car.
 

Hour 0: Taniguchi and Yanagida kicks off first hour for PETRONAS Syntium Team

The year-long wait has come to an end as the first hour of the 2008 edition of the PETRONAS Primax 3 Merdeka Millennium Endurance race kicked-off for the PETRONAS Syntium Team. Taking the driver reigns for start of the race were the two fastest drivers determined from Friday's qualifying session for both cars. Nobuteru Taniguchi in the No. 28 and Masataka Yanagida in the No. 20 BMW Z4M Coupes started the proceedings from P4 and P6, respectively.

Starting just before the stroke of midday, both drivers were able to get off to a good start as Taniguchi had to work to defend his start position, though he had to relinquish it to another car, the no. 28 settled in 5th position after the third lap. Behind him, a good start by Yanagida in the sister BMW Z4M Coupe ensured his position in 6th. The duo were able to maintain a consistent pace despite having to battle through the backmarkers as early as lap 4 of the race.

Keeping in touch with each other, the two BMW Z4M Coupe kept within close range of each other as the close of the first hour approached. However, a mechanical problem forced Taniguchi to pit early handing Yanagida 5th position as the race reached its first hour mark as the team worked to repair the No. 28 BMW Z4M Coupe.