Petronas Syntium Team Conquered Twin Ring Motegi
Opening round of Super Taikyu Endurace Series 2010 (STES10) saw PETRONAS Syntium Team started with a bang registering a superb 1-2 finish. The team’s car no 1 BMW Z4 Coupe driven by Nobuteru Taniguchi, Masataka Yanagida and debutant Imran Zaharias Shaharom took the checkered flag ahead of Tatsuya Kataoka, Fariqe Hairuman and another rookie Melvin Moh in the team’s sister car no 28.
The race took place at the Twin Ring Motegi on March 28th. This result was indeed a positive start for the team hoping to defend their championship title they held for the last 2 years.
PETRONAS Syntium Team introduced 2 new drivers this season, Imran Zaharias Shaharom and Melvin Moh. Both of them shown tremendous talent at young age of 21 to compliment their more illustrious teammate in a top endurance race. Like most of the top drivers, Imran and Melvin graduated from Team Holzer PFX of Formula BMW Pacific Series.
Selected drivers quote:
Imran Zaharias Shaharom: “To be honest, I really do not know what to say! It’s great to be here this weekend and to be able to make the step up from the development stage last year to the race seat this year is simply amazing. My teammates Yanagida and Taniguchi are great to work with and have really helped motivate me for my very first race and to top it all off, everything worked well. It was good, but as I am still learning, there is still a lot of room for improvement. Thank you to the management, my teammates and the crew for everything!” BMW Z4M COUPE, CAR NO. 1, RACE WINNER Drivers: Masataka Yanagida (JPN), Nobuteru Taniguchi (JPN) and Imran Zaharias Shaharom (MAS)
Fariqe Hairuman: “To come here and win on the momentum of a great result from the 24Hours of Dubai is simply amazing. I am really happy that we were able to bring that competitive spirit back to Japan! This weekend, we knew that the GT3 Porsche would be strong, so we had to focus on other areas with the goal of being consistent throughout the race. This year sees me switch cars and teammates so there was some adjustment that needed to be done. I am glad that everything went well and we were able to be as competitive. For sure we will push for the next race!” BMW Z4M COUPE, CAR NO. 28, 2nd POSITION Drivers: Tatsuya Kataoka (JPN), Fariqe Hairuman (MAS), Melvin Moh Chun-Ho (MAS)
Round 2 of the 2010 Super Taikyu Endurance Series will take place at the Sportsland Sugo circuit from 8 to 9 May.
Photo / Editorial: Nazim Idris / Team Petronas Press Release
