Proton R3 Amprex wins MME race

Kuala Lumpur: The international combination of Tengku Djan Ley Tengku Mahaleel, Genji Hashimoto and Tony Riccirdello of Malaysia's Proton R3 Amprex Racing won the 2005 Merdeka Millennium Endurance (MME) race which finished late last night at the Sepang Circuit.Race organiser Sepang International Circuit (SIC) in a statement here Sunday said that starting from pole position, the Malaysian, Japanese and Australian trio completed 279 laps in their fully-modified Lotus Exige 300RR for the 12-hour endurance race, which was flagged off by Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy at 11am Saturday.

Throughout the race, the Proton Motorsports-backed team exchanged positions at the top of the race chart with Honda Malaysia Racing team until the last hour when Proton R3 Amprex finally edged away to take the chequered flag.

"I would definitely say this will not be our last win in the MME, but instead will be the start of many," Tengku Djan said after receiving the trophy from Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

For Honda Malaysia Racing team, despite their loss they sucessfully defended their Class A category. The partnership of Hiroki Katoh, Eddie Lew and Farriz Fauzy finished just one lap behind the overall winners with 278 laps.

SPONSORED CONTENT

Sabah revenue hits RM6.97 billion: Hajiji says GRS State Government may see full term

Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah Government continued its momentum in managing the economy in line with the commitment and spirit of the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) when it posted record high state revenue of RM6.973 billion last year.

Lew said: "We were competing with a GT car and obviously, the Lotus has more speed than us. I believe they are going to be even stronger next year. So we may just need to bring a similar powered Honda machine if we want to compete with the Lotus."

Driving a Porsche 996, an experienced partnership of Clive Bates, Nick Thomas and Joe Sevack of Hong Kong took third overall and second place for the Open Class, covering 269 laps around the 5.543km Formula One track.

The battle among machines between 1601 cc and 1900cc in Class B was won by a trio of Australian drivers from Gates Racing Team-Mark Eddy, Grant Johnson and Francis Jouy. They completed 250 laps to finish 12th overall.

Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.

Daily Express Malaysia

Chong Fu Seong, Ee Shedden Joon Joon and Harry Chai won the battle of Class C after completing 248 laps with a 17th overall placing. Ninety-three cars took part in this years' MME race but after the qualifying on Friday, only 77 were on the starting grid yesterday morning.- AFP

Overall Results - Top 10 Finishers:

Try 1 month for RM 18.00

Try 1 month for RM 18.00

Try 1 month for RM 18.00