It was a perfect race for Clearwater Racing as they emerged as the biggest winners of the 2014 Malaysia Merdeka Endurance (MME) Race. The two Ferraris 458 of Clearwater Racing scored an amazing 1-2 finish, with car no #1 of Mok Weng Sun, Alif Hamdan and Gianmaria Bruni took top honours, followed by car no #2 of Craig Baird, Richard Wee and Keita Sawa. Car no #99 of Absolute Racing’s Audi R8 LMS clinched the final podium position after a close battle with the Aston Martin of car no #777 of Craft Bamboo squad.
The #1 car dominated the entire 12 hours, and completed an amazing 325 laps when the race ends at 12am, a lap ahead of the team’s second car. This is the second consecutive victory for the Singaporean team, and Mok Weng Sun became the third driver in the race’s fifteen years of history to win two consecutive titles with the same team. The victory was also made possible thanks to the inclusion of AF Corse’s top Ferrari driver and multiple Le Mans winner, Gianmaria Bruni.
“It’s unbelievable, I think it’s the first time ever were we had a race when we went maximum driving time for each stint we were out there. No mistakes out on the circuit, no mistakes in the pit stop, and we broke our track lap record from last year by two laps. The only thing that slowed us down was the safety cars and it’s the first time I’ve ever experienced a perfect race.” said Mok.
In the GTC category, The Porsche of car no#777 from Team NZ took top honours with 291 laps completed, putting the Audi car of B-Quik Racing to settle for second place. The four drivers of Team NZ battled the scorching heat of the Sepang track and with consistent pace and flawless pit crew earned them the victory on the GTC category.
In the tough and competitive Touring Production Category, Johor based R Engineering gave the best present for Malaysia’s Independence day as car no #21 of Lai Wee Sing, KK Soh, Gilbert Ang won that category in a Honda Civic Type R with 269 laps completed.
Out of the 35 official entries, 28 cars started the race at 12pm with 22 cars registered as finishes, an impressive feat as usually retirements in high numbers are a norm in endurance racing. Meanwhile, the Audi car of #101 of Absolute Racing was disqualified from the race, due to a strict rule that mechanics aren’t allowed to enter the track area during the race.
Lastly, our congratulations to Clearwater Racing for their display of dominance at the MME 2014, and not forgetting to all participants who completed the entire 12 hours in Sepang! Meanwhile, do enjoy the pictures below!
