Wednesday 19 October 2016

First entries promise an exciting 2016 edition of the Motul Sepang 12 Hours

With less than two months to go before the Motul Sepang 12 Hours, which will be the final round of the 2016 Intercontinental GT Challenge, the first confirmed entries have set the tone for what promises to be a thrilling edition of the Malaysian endurance classic. The premier Asian endurance event for GT and Touring Cars attracts attention from all over the planet and some teams have already announced their entries for the December 11th event. Here are the first names.

 
Porsche works drivers for Manthey Racing
Porsche will bring an all-factory driver line-up to the Motul Sepang 12 Hours. Two Manthey Racing-run Porsche 911 GT3R cars will represent the German manufacturer, which will be making its debut in the Intercontinental GT Challenge. 2015 Le Mans winners Earl Bamber and Nick Tandy will be joined by Patrick Pilet on the #911 car, while Richard Lietz, Michael Christensen and Fred Makowiecki will be at the wheel of the #912. A clear sign that the Stuttgart-based brand is not travelling to Malaysia to simply make up the numbers!

Pasin Lathouras and AF Corse/Spirit of Race aiming for glory
Thai driver Pasin Lathouras, the winner of the Pro-Am category in the 2015 Total 24 Hours of Spa, wants to add another prestigious title to his already impressive list of successes. Judging by the talent of his co-drivers – Italians Michele Rugolo and Alessandro Pier Guidi – the Spirit of Race Ferrari will certainly be among the frontrunners. Especially since Pier Guidi has some experience in the Sepang endurance race, as he was leading the early stages of the 2015 edition.

T2 Motorsport bring another new Ferrari 488 GT3
A second Ferrari 488 GT3 will be in the hands of Indonesian team T2 Motorsport. The squad acquired the latest of the Prancing Horses in August and with the help of AF Corse, the car will make its debut in the Sepang 12 Hours. At the wheel will be Am drivers Greg Teo from Singapore and Indonesian David Tjiptobiantoro – both regular podium finishers in the Ferrari Asia Pacific Challenge – who will be joined by Italian Christian Colombo.

Naza Nexus wants another top-10 finish
The predecessor of the 488, the Ferrari 458 GT3, is still a mightily competitive car. Last year Naza Nexus managed to run in a top-10 position all through the race and the squad of driver/manager Adrian Henry D’Silva wants to do at least as well in its home race. The complete driver line-up will be announced shortly.

amuse & SPV Racing want to shine in the TC and GT4/S classes
In the Sepang 12 Hours there are not only GT3 cars at the start. Japanese squad amuse & SPV Racing will even be entering cars in two different classes: a Toyota GT86 in the TC class and a Lexus RC350 in the GT4/S category. The driver line-up is yet to be confirmed, but will probably include drivers with a wealth of experience.

B-Quik Audi is back!
Last year the Audi R8 LMS Cup of B-Quik Racing was one of the crowd’s favourites. Not only for its unique ‘bumblebee’ livery, but also because its line-up included one of the all-time great GT drivers, Peter Kox. The Dutchman is back this year, and will again be joined by his countryman Henk Kiks and Australian Dan Bilski.

Jim Hunter Subaru aiming for class win
There are plenty of other Australians participating in Sepang, and four of them are at the wheel of the Jim Hunter Motorsport Subaru. The Impreza is entered in the Touring class and Jim Hunter, Grant Johnson, Andrew McPherson and Allan Letcher are aiming for at least a podium finish in their category.

Jim Hunter, team manager : « The Jim Hunter Motorsport team are keen to get to the top step of the podium this year after mechanical problems dropped us to third last year. We have been the fastest car in the class every year but that does not guarantee a podium finish. Motor racing is the hardest sport to succeed in with the cheapest component in the car able to bring you to a halt. The drivers are really looking forward to the new SIC track with the different corner profiling and surface. »
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Motul Sepang 12Hours
Provisional Timetable
Thursday Dec 8th
Free Practice 1 17:50 – 19:50
Free Practice 2 20:15 – 22:15
Friday Dec 9th
Free Practice 3 11:00 – 13:00
Qualifying 15:00 – 16:00
Top 15 Shootout 16:30 – 16:45
Saturday Dec 10th
Race Start 12:00

Information & press images : http://www.sepang12hours.com
Watch live : http://www.sepang12hours.com/live

Follow us on
Twitter : www.twitter.com/Sepang12H #sepang12h #intGTC
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About Motul
Motul is a world-class French company specialised in the formulation, production and distribution of high-tech engine lubricants (two-wheelers, cars and other vehicles) as well as lubricants for industry via its MOTULTECH activity. Within Asia Pacific, Motul is operating in collaboration with importers and distributors in 16 countries, with a regional HQ based out of Singapore.
Motul is also recognised as the specialist in synthetic lubricants. As early as 1971, Motul was the first lubricant manufacturer to pioneer the formulation of a 100% synthetic lubricant for automotive engines, the 300V lubricant, making use of Esters technology and issued from the aeronautical industry.
Throughout the years, Motul has gained experience as an official supplier to many racing teams and manufacturers and contributes with them to further technological development in motorsports.
Motul is supporting those teams in international competitions such as: 24 Hours of Le Mans (cars and motorcycles), FIA World Endurance Championship, Super GT, ERC, Drift, Pikes Peak, Japanese championship SUPER FORMULA, Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup, GT Asia, Asian and European Le Mans Series, MotoGP, World Superbike, World MX, Endurance World Championship, Supercross, IOM TT, Motul FIM Ice Speedway Gladiators World Championship, Rallycross, F1 Boat, Roof of Africa and many others.

About 2016 Intercontinental GT Challenge
As the interest and enthusiasm for GT Racing grows all over the world, the SRO Motorsports Group introduced the Intercontinental GT Challenge.
The Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour, Total 24 hours of Spa and the Motul Sepang 12 Hours are part of the inaugural calendar of the Intercontinental GT Challenge, the first-ever global GT3 Series. This new Challenge is aimed at manufacturers, who are encouraged to use local teams to represent them in these leading GT3 races, as it is more cost- and time-effective to fly engineers and drivers around the world rather than cars and equipment.
Both a manufacturers’ and a drivers’ title will be awarded in the Pro category, while a Drivers’ title will be awarded in Pro-Am. The events will all have common technical regulations and the BOP will be managed by SRO. The Intercontinental GT Challenge will represent the highest achievement in long distance GT racing. By uniting these iconic events in one series, the level of racing at each round will certainly increase, improving the attractiveness of the event to fans, sponsors, media, drivers and teams alike. A large TV coverage is projected all over the world.

About 2016 Motul Sepang 12 Hours
Date : December 08 - 11, 2016
The SRO Motorsport Group in partnership with the Sepang International Circuit are co-organizing and co-promoting the Sepang 12 Hours.
The following classes are eligible to race:

• GT3

• GTC

• GT4 & Sports Production

• Touring Production

• TC

• Marc cars
• Invitation class
SRO is bringing its wealth of race organisation experience to the Motul Sepang 12 hours, especially its know-how in GT endurance. The race includes the established Touring Production class which is an integral part of the Motul Sepang 12 Hours.

-www.sepangcircuit.com

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