PETRONAS Syntium Team
2009 Merdeka Millennium Endurance Race
Thursday, 6 August 2009

PST drivers, PFX young racing talents engage in a completely different ball game

Kuala Lumpur, 6 August 2009 – As preparations heat up for the 10th edition of the Merdeka Millennium Endurance race on Saturday, the six PETRONAS Syntium Team drivers took time out to express their competitive spirit without actually driving.

Prior to the MME free practice on Thursday, the trio from the team’s BMW Z4M Coupe No. 15 – Fariqe Hairuman, Masataka Yanagida and Nobuteru Taniguchi took on their teammates in the No. 28 car – Tatsuya Kataoka, Manabu Orido and Johan Adzmi in a game of volleyball. They were joined by the eight young drivers from PETRONAS’ racing school programme, PETRONAS Formula Xperience (PFX).

The presence of the PETRONAS Syntium Team drivers helped livened up the atmosphere of the volleyball game, which was part of the PFX racing school fitness activity.
 
The eight drivers will be participating in a school race as part of the PFX racing school curriculum to prepare the young drivers for competitive racing.

Fariqe Hairuman (MAS), BMW Z4M Coupe, #15
“It was really fun unwinding with my teammates and the young drivers from PETRONAS’ racing school. In one way, this helps us to relax a bit especially with all the preparation for the big race this weekend. In another way, we can also get to know these young drivers and give them advice on racing in general by interacting with each other in a fun way.”

Tatsuya Kataoka (JPN), BMW Z4M Coupe, #28
“This was such a fun game for me! Volleyball is a great team sport as everybody on the team needs to communicate with one another. We got the chance to meet and play together with the young drivers and that was fun. We only get the chance once a year and to do it in a fun way is great! For me, I get to relax and everyone had a big smile!”

The 10th edition of the 12-hour Merdeka Millennium Endurance Race will be flagged off on Saturday 30th August at 11:00a.m finishing twelve hours later on the same day. Readers will also be able to read the hourly updates of the race online at www.petmos.com.my

For information on the PETRONAS Syntium Team visit us online at www.teampetronas.com
For information on the Merdeka Millennium Endurance race, visit the official website at www.sepang-circuit.com