BMW ranked top automobile brand in China, and third most popular in the region. BMW is the most popular premium car brand in Asia, according to the latest survey on Asia Pacific’s Top 1000 brand listing for 2009 by the MEDIA magazine.

The company was also the top-ranked car company in China and came in third in the Top 10 Autos category, closely behind two Japanese mass-market car brands.

“BMW once again secured a high finish in Media’s Top 1000 ranking, reflecting its standing among Asia-Pacific consumers. In the auto category, BMW performed well in all countries surveyed, and was the most popular auto brand in China for the second year running”, said Atifa Hargrave-Silk, Editor of Media magazine.

Mr Johannes Seibert, Managing Director of BMW Group Asia said, “We are delighted and honoured to be ranked as the number one premium car brand. It is a validation of our unwavering premium brand strategy, underlined by the Group’s focus on innovation as we continue to roll out new products, define new segments, and establish higher benchmarks in the premium automobile market. We will ensure that our customers continue to enjoy products befitting of BMW premium brand image”.

Across all industries, BMW was ranked 52nd among Asia Pacific’s Top 1000 Brands.

Asia’s Top 1000 Brands proprietary survey is co-funded by MEDIA magazine, an estimated 3,900 consumers in ten markets were surveyed in the sixth round of the survey: Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. The survey covered 11 major product and service categories.

The Super GT round 4 in Sepang International Circuit today was won by HASEMI TOMICA EBBRO GT-R driven by Ronnie Quintarelli and Hironobu Yasuda for their first victory of the season.

To avoid the midday heat of tropical Malaysia, the race was scheduled to start at 16:00. The second-place qualifying HASEMI TOMICA EBBRO GT-R started from the front of the grid due to the pole position holder was, MOTUL AUTECH GT-R was having some engien trouble and had to start from the pit.

The HASEMI TOMICA EBBRO GT-R’s starting driver, Quintarelli, kept that lead to lap 30 before turning the wheel over to teammate Yasuda at the routine pit stop. Once Yasuda took over, he was never threatened for the lead, due in part to a furious battle for 2nd position raging behind him. Eventually, he ran on to victory with a big lead over the field.
This marked the first victory for the Hasemi Motor Sports team in the GT500 class since Round 7 of last season. The team’s Manager, Masahiro Hasemi, is known as a famed driver of years past.

In the GT300 class, the I.M JIHAN CO. LTD APPLE Shiden driven by Hiroki Katoh and Hiroki Yoshimoto staged an furious charge from the very back of the pack to win a stunning victory. It’s indeed an amazing feat to start at the tail end to become the podium winner!

||||||||||||||||||||||| Winner Comments |||||||||||||||||||||||

==[GT500]===================================

No.3 HASEMI TOMICA EBBRO GT-R

Ronnie Quintarelli: I am really happy. I thought we might have a chance of winning here at Sepang even before we came. The team has done a fantastic job with the machine preparation and Michelin prepared some great tires for us. Also, we two drivers did training to prepare for the heat. So, I feel this victory was truly a product of everyone’s efforts. I can’t help congratulating myself and the team. Car No. 1 had trouble before the start that took it out of the lead, so I was able to run at my own pace and concentrate on tire management too. With the exception of the times when I got stuck behind GT300 machines, I had no problems. There was also a time when the tires were losing grip, but after the 20th lap or so it got better and stayed good until the pit stop. The tires performed better than I expected. So I was able to turn the machine over to Yasuda with a good margin of lead, and the team’s pit works was also fast too.”

Hironobu Yasuda: I am also very happy. I really caused the team a lot of trouble with my big crash at Suzuka that nearly totaled the machine. So, I was hoping that I could returned that debt with a victory. Now that has happened, and that makes me happiest of all. The NSX teams came into this race with a strategy of getting an advantage by only changing two tires, and there was one dangerous moment when I came out of the pit and doubled up with an NSX machine. But I was able to keep position, and I worked hard to pull away after that. Once I got away, Manager Hasemi told me [over the radio] that I didn’t need to push too hard. He said I could relax and stay cool. After that I just ran with an eye on the margin between the machines behind me.”

==[GT300]===================================

No.2 I.M JIHAN CO.LTD APPLE Shiden

Hiroki Katoh: Yesterday’s events were frustrating [being disqualified after winning the class pole] but I told myself that the race wasn’t over because of it, and that it only meant that the chance of winning had been narrowed to some degree. That made my desire to win even stronger. The race also went well strategically, and the team staff did a great job for us. The car and the tires were both very good. I am really happy with this result.”

Hiroki Yoshimoto: Since I came to the team from Round 2, we have had to start at the very back of the grip or 3rd from the back, so I was worried that people would say I brought bad luck to the team. But like Katoh-san told me to do, I turned that frustration into competitive spirit on the track and was able to come to the race with a positive attitude. Katoh-san started and we had some good luck with the accidents up in front of him, but we also had the skills to get around them and keep working hard as a team to get past the frustration and not give up. And the result was that everyone put together a perfect race. On my stint the tires were also performing perfectly from beginning to end. But at the end, it was by no means just a matter of maintaining a margin. I don’t think I could have pushed any harder if I was told to.”

=======================================================================
RACE RESULTS TOP 3
———————————————————————–
[GT500 CLASS]
1 HASEMI TOMICA EBBRO GT-R – R.Quintarelli and H.Yasuda
2 KEIHIN NSX? – T.Kaneishi and K.Tsukakoshi
3 ARTA NSX – R.Firman and T.Izawa
[GT300 CLASS]
1 I.M JIHAN CO.LTD APPLE Shiden – H.Katoh and H.Yoshimoto
2 WedsSport IS350 – M.Orido and T.Kataoka
3 M7 MUTIARA MOTORSAMEMIYASGC 7 – N.Taniguchi and R.Orime

Discuss more at the Super GT forum here.

Full results and pictures of the race below.

The Super GT Round 4 in Sepang International Circuit today started off with a wet practice session in the morning when the heavens decided to open up. This is good news for the spectators as it brought down the temperature a few degree Celsius. Unfortunately, the ‘normal’ SIC heat builts up again in the afternoon when the qualifying session starts.

The MOTUL AUTECH GT-R driven by Satoshi Motoyama and Benoit Treluyer set the fastest qualifying time for the GT500 class and Kazuki Hoshino and Masataka Yanagida set the fastest qualifying time in their S Road MOLA Z for the GT300 class.

Attach below are the full qualifying results.

Discuss more at the Super GT forum here.

Here’s some shot of what you can expect to see this coming weekend during the Super GT Round 4 in Sepang International Circuit. As you read this, the teams are busy unpacking and prepping their pits for the race. It’s going to be a hot race this weekend and I’m sure race fans are all excited to see their favorite teams (and race queens) again this year.

Discuss more at the special Super GT forum here.

There will be a sole Singaporean entry in the Super GT in Sepang International Circuit this weekend. Coming in as a spot entry just for Round 4 of the series, there will be no championship points for the team.

Initially announced to compete in a Toyota Celica, the team have changed to compete in a factory-backed Mosler MT900R in the GT300 Class. The drivers will be Singaporean racing driver Melvin Choo and British Martin Short.

The team is cohesively bullish about getting into the Super GT. With the factory backing from Mosler Automotive, the team is confident of doing well in the race.

The Mosler MT900R race car is made by Mosler Automotive, one of the world’s top performance sports car manufacturers. For their race version, the company employs the base MT900 that already has state-of-the-art materials and technologies, and builds on that foundation for total performance far beyond some more expensive sports cars. Working closely with many international racing teams, Mosler is able to continuously enhance their cars’ total performance with much success. Currently the Mosler car is dominating the British GT Series and is the top choice amongst teams competing in European and Australia GT Series.

It will be interesting to see how this “new team” performs in the Super GT admist the Japanese.

Discuss over in the Super GT Forum here.

This coming weekend (19th to 21st June 2009), Sepang International Circuit will roar with the thunderous sound from the Super GT machines. 33 teams from GT300 and GT500 class will be blazing around the circuit for 54 laps on raceday; Sunday 21 June.

Thus far, about 50 shipping containers have already arrived in preparation of the race. This means the cars, parts, equipments, etc… are already being prepped/setup as you read this.

Sepang International Circuit expects 50,000 spectators coming for the race judging from ticket sales and previous year responses.

Besides Super GT, there will also be supporting races from Formula V6 Asia, GT3 Asia and the Aston Martin Cup Asia.

Tickets of the Main Grandstand can be purchase at only RM100. Sepang International Circuit is also offering a special family package at RM250 for four Main Grandstand ticket. Free admission for children seven-years-old and below. Passes for Sunday’s Pit Walkabout and Circuit Safari are sold at RM100 each.

See you this weekend!

Check out the SuperGT forum here.

A race is somewhat incomplete without race queens. I’m pretty sure our readers would be happy to see some pictures of the race queens that graced the Asian Festival of Speed event in Sepang International Circuit on the 30th – 31st May ‘09.

There weren’t a lot of race queens around but here are some of the ones that we at Autoworld managed to snap.

So here ya go….enjoy the pictures.

Already home to some of the world’s most prestigious racing events, the Sepang 1000km is set to be another pride of Sepang International Circuit.

The inaugural Sepang 1000km will be held on June 4th to 6th June 2009.

“It is truly an-all Malaysian event designed by and for Malaysians in particular,” said SIC Chairman Datuk Mokhzani Tun Mahathir at the event’s launch by the Youth and Sports Deputy Minister Datuk Razali Ibrahim at the circuit yesterday.

Open to production cars below 1900cc (Class B and C), the introduction of the 1000-km race has now split the Merdeka Millennium Endurance race and, perhaps, effectively eliminated the painful experience of non qualifiers at the 12-hour race.

A maximum of 77 cars would be allowed to start the race with the quota set at 38 cars for Class 1 for cars between 1650cc to 1900cc and another 39 cars for Class 2 for cars with engine capacity below 1600cc.

Spurred by their victorious collaboration at Sepang 12-hour Merdeka Millennium Endurance Race (MME) last year, Team Proton R3 and X1-R are joining forces again to top Class B.

Qualifying for the race will start on June 5 while the process of registration, scrutineering and free practice would be done the day before.

With a minimum of two drivers and a maximum of four drivers to a car, the first team that completes 182 laps (approximately 1008km) of the 5.543km track will be announced the winner on race day, June 6.

“It’s a natural progression for a race like MME to become more competitive with more big budget teams and faster cars entering as the years go on, with this some of the smaller players start to be left behind,” said Mokhzani.

“After studying the feedback from the smaller teams that took part in MME, it was decided that they needed a more level playing field which resulted in the creation of the Sepang 1000km.

Nevertheless for those frequent MME qualifiers, the race can also works as a warm up to the MME in August.”

Mokhzani also believes that the Sepang 1000km is a good grass root level race which caters to fresh and upcoming racing teams.

“With categories B and C in mind, SIC wanted to produce a strong bunch of drivers and team in this category,” Mokhzani said.

All teams will be using the  Achilles 123 model as the official tyre for the race as a compulsory requirement.

For you motorsports fan out there, come and be part of this historical event. Entrance for public is free.

The race schedule as follows:-

THURSDAY, 4th JUNE 2009

0830 hrs – 1200 hrs All Registration & Scrutineering

0900 hrs – 1130 hrs Support Races Registration & Scrutineering

1145 hrs    Support Races Drivers’ Briefing

1230 hrs    1000KM Drivers;Briefing

1245 hrs – 1315 hrs Supercars/Supersaloon Free Practice

1330 hrs – 1400 hrs Aston Martin Free Practice

1430 hrs – 1530 hrs All Drivers Class 2 Free Practice

1540 hrs – 1640 hrs All Drivers Class 1 Free Practice

1650 hrs – 1750 hrs All Drivers Class 2 Free Practice

1800 hrs – 1900 hrs All Drivers Class 1 Free practice

FRIDAY, 5th JUNE 2009

0900 hrs – 0930 hrs Aston Martin Qualifying

0940 hrs – 1010 hrs Supercars/Supersaloon Qualifying

1030 hrs – 1100 hrs Class 2 Driver 1 Qualifying

1110 hrs – 1140 hrs Class 1 Driver 1 Qualifying

1150 hrs – 1220 hrs Class 2 Driver 2 Qualifying

1230 hrs – 1300 hrs Class 1 Driver 2 Qualifying

1300 hrs – 1400 hrs BREAK

1400 hrs – 1430 hrs Class 2 Driver 3 Qualifying

1440 hrs – 1510 hrs Class 1 Driver 3 Qualifying

1520 hrs – 1540 hrs Class 2 Driver 4 Qualifying

1550 hrs – 1620 hrs Class 1 Driver 4 Qualifying

1630 hrs    Aston Martin Race 1 (15 laps)

1730 hrs    Supercars/Supersaloon Race 1 (15 laps)

SATURDAY, 6th JUNE 2009

0900 hrs – 0945 hrs Supercars/Supersaloon Race 2 (15 laps)

1000 hrs – 1045 hrs Aston Martin Race 2 (15 laps)

1100 hrs                 Pit Exit Open

1115 hrs                 Pit Exit Close

1150 hrs                 National Anthem

1157 hrs                 Formation lap

1200 hrs                 Sepang 1000km Race Start (182 Laps)

2100 hrs                Prize Presentation

A Memorable Double Weekend for Mok

On form Mok Weng Sun made it a memorable weekend at the Sepang International Circuit as he sealed a double win in the GT3 Asia Round 2 which was part of the Asian Festival of Speed.

The Singaporean driving for Porsche Club Singapore Racing won Race 2 with a total time of 23:27.662s, 1.271s ahead of Team Machine’s Eddie Yau.

Coming in third was Malaysian Tunku Hammam Sulong who recorded a total time of 23:30.387s.

Mok showed his supremacy again by pulling out a lead even after the safety car came out to regroup the pack as SPS Racing’s Siu Tit Lung spun out.

“I did not change the setting of the car from Race 1’s win and in this round had a good start and had a good run throughout the race. However after the safety car was deployed I was ready for some competition from the back,” said Mok.

“I kept my head down and continued to push as hard as I could. Overall, I had a one pole position and two wins so it has definitely been a good weekend for me,” said Mok.

As for Yau the second place finish was the best he could manage as Mok was too fast to catch and Tunku Hammam kept pressing him.

“I had a really good start. I was close to Mok but Tunku Hammam kept the pressure up so I had to do whatever I could to stay second even after the safety car went in,” said the Hong Kong driver.

As for Tunku Hammam, the podium finish in Race 2 made his weekend worthwhile after a drive through penalty bogged down his hopes in Race 1.

“Today was definitely better than yesterday. After Turn 2 I was third and I pushed the car but not too much as I had to keep my tyres. After the safety car was deployed I tried hard to make it to second but I couldn’t and I also didn’t want to lose the third position.,” said Tunku Hammam.

“There have been a few mishaps this weekend but overall it was great and I’m looking forward to the rest of the season,” he added.

The full results and pictures from the race at the below gallery.

The Asian Festival of Speed in Sepang International Circuit today saw fellow Malaysian racers (Chin Tzer Jinn, Eric Yeo and Fahmo Ilyas) making their country proud by being on the podium of the Asian Touring Car Series and Formula BMW Asia Pacific. The podium finishes of the day as follows:-

GT3 Asia Challenge
1st – Mok Weng Sun of Porsche Club Singapore Racing
2nd – Sam Yau of  Team Machine
3rd – Siu Yuk Lung of Team SPS Racing

Asian Touring Car Series
1st – Chin Tzer Jinn
2nd – Eric Yeo
3rd – Cheung Chi Sing of Team IMSP – S&D

Formula V6 Asia
1st – Hamad Al Fardan of Dyna Ten Motorsports
2nd – Kevin Chen of Champ Motorsports
3rd – Ro Charlz of Dyna Ten Motorsports

Formula BMW Pacific – Race 1
1st – Axcil Jefferies of Eurasia Motorsport
2nd – Gary Thompson of E-Rain Racing
3rd Akhil Khushlani of E-Rain Racing

Formula BMW Pacific – Race 2
1st – Fahmo Ilyas of E-Rain Racing
2nd – Gary Thompson of E-Rain Racing
3rd – Rio Haryanto of Questnet Team Qi-Meritus

Full results for the Asian Touring Car Series, GT3 Asia Challenge, Formula V6 Asia and Formula BMW Pacific attached below.

The weather at Sepang International Circuit is at its usual level, i.e. scorching hot! Coupled with the unusually hot weather for the past few months, the ‘problem’ are compounded even further. Nevertheless, I braved the weather to bring you some snapshots of the race. Enjoy!