PETALING JAYA: UMW Toyota Motor’s deputy chairman Akio Takeyama will be in his maiden endurance race for the upcoming Sepang 1,000km (S1K).
Wing Hin Motorsports, one of the most distinguished motor racing outfits in the country will prepare two Toyota Vios for the up-coming Sepang 1,000km (S1K) race including Car 39 racing under “Team Toyota GAZOO Racing Malaysia” colours.
The cars will compete this weekend at the Sepang International Circuit in the premier MTC class for modified production cars below 1,600cc using TRD race-prepared engines in Toyota Vios chassis prepared at Wing Hin’s own facility in Balakong, Selangor.
Buoyed by the team’s impressive performance in the 2018 event where a Toyota Vios driven by the pairing of Boy Wong and William Ho scored a remarkable podium finish, Wing Hin Motorsports Principal Simon Loh is confident that the cars will be among the front runners again in this year’s event.
Also, bringing his valuable experience to the team this year will be Japanese touring car legend Akira Iida.
With six Le Mans 24-hour race finishes under his belt, Iida has been instrumental in developing Toyota GAZOO Racing’s competitive edge particularly in the Japan Super GT series.
“Having only raced in the Vios Challenge for two and a half seasons, going into the S1K will be a totally new and exciting experience for me. I look upon it as a challenge and an opportunity for me to push my own boundaries. I also hope to pick up some valuable insights from my team mates Iida and William who have a wealth of circuit racing experience,” said Takeyama who is also UMW Toyota Motor chief motorsports officer.
The Sepang 1,000km kicks off with a rolling start at around noon on Nov 23.
The race on the 5.45km circuit will take over eight hours to complete with the top cars expected to clock over 180 laps.
