For the first edition of the 8 Hours of Sepang on December 14, the circuit (organizer of the event) enters its own Yamaha Sepang Racing team with Franco Morbidelli, teammate of Fabio Quartararo in MotoGP within the Petronas Yamaha SRT team, Hafizh Syahrin, Malaysian star rider entered in MotoGP with Red Bull KTM Tech3, and Michael van der Mark, fourth in the FIM Superbike World Championship and 4 times winner of the 8 Hours of Suzuka. This team will be technically supported by YART.
With Franco Morbidelli, the Yamaha Sepang Racing team will present one of the two stars of its MotoGP team, the other being of course fabio quartararo. Hafiz Syahrin will be the only Malaysian rider in the team, therefore favorite of the spectators in front of whom he will try to forget his 23rd final place in the World Championship on KTM. Syahrin is good in the wet and could be an effective asset for his team. Michael van der Mark won the Suzuka 8 Hours four times for Honda and Yamaha. He will be the only one who knows the R1 well that the team will have for this big Malaysian premiere.
To Franco Morbidelli, who are " I'm curious to see how an endurance racing format works for me, and I'm really looking forward to it. It's a different thing, and when Razlan asked me to do it, I was like : " Sure why not ? ". »
“The combination of Yamaha and the Sepang Racing Team means it should be a strong package, and it will be nice to race a series-derived bike again. It's very good for keeping fit, so it's nice to be able to run in December. »
“I've trained with a YZF-R1 before, so I have an idea of what to expect, but I'm sure the endurance Superbike will be very different. Maybe I'll take the opportunity to spend a vacation in Malaysia. »
According to Michael van der Mark, who are " When I first saw that there was going to be an EWC round at Sepang in December, I knew it would be cool to race, so I'm really proud that the team asked me – and how can you say no to such a good team racing on its own track? »
“Sepang is hot and humid and it will be very hard work – but it is also the challenge of endurance racing and I really like that. I will do everything to help the team with the little endurance experience I have because we want to fight for victory. We have a very strong team, but we have to be smart and consistent, because our goal will be to win the team's home race. »
According to Hafiz Syahrin, “This is not my first endurance race as I have already done the Suzuka 8 Hours, but it will be very different in front of our home fans. It's a very good opportunity for me to test my physical endurance because it will be a very long and very hot race, and the most important thing will be how we work as a team. We will do our best to do a good job, but we have a good team and very strong teammates. I am very happy to share a bike with Francky and Michael, because they are good riders and Michael has a lot of experience with the Yamaha. »
By consulting the provisional list of entrants, there are 50 crews, most of them of good quality, including the FCC TSR Honda France team, victim of an engine failure at the Bol d'Or, leading to the abandonment of the Webike SRC Kawasaki France and the YART Yamaha. 36 permanent teams entered in the 2019-2020 FIM EWC season will be present at Sepang, including 21 in Formula EWC and 15 in Superstock.
The current advantage in the Championship belongs to the winner in the Var, the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team, first in the Bol d'Or, followed by the astonishing Wójcik Racing Team in 2nd and the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team, 3rd in the Bol d'Or. In Superstock, the fight also promises to be close for Moto Ain, winner of the 2018-2019 World Cup and the Bol d'Or, against the Japanese team Tone RT (BMW), best Superstock of the 8 Suzuka 2019 Hours. in the category and 14th at the finish.
The motorcycles of the European teams have just taken to the sea
The European machines entered in the 8 Hours of Sepang are on their way to Malaysia. Eleven containers have just left Le Havre and two others have left the port of Genoa in Italy thanks to logistics provided by SEL, Sport & Events Logistics, partner of the FIM EWC championship.
More than 1 m100 and 3 tonnes of material set sail for Malaysia. Nine containers house the machines and parts of the teams under contract, at a rate of three to four teams per on-board container. Two containers are dedicated to Dunlop tires.
These boats departing from Le Havre and Genoa are expected in Malaysia at the end of November. Another trip of four containers will be organized from Nagoya in mid-November for the Japanese teams entered in Sepang.
Asians will also be present
We will also follow with interest several Japanese teams, including Honda Asia Dream Racing with Showa, regular leader of the top10 at the Suzuka 8 Hours with its star driver since 2016, the Malaysian Zaqhwan Zaidi, alongside the Indonesian Gerry Salim, entered in Moto2 in the Spanish Championship, and the Thai Somkiat Chantra, brilliantly entered in the Moto2 World Championship.
We will also be interested in the 100% Japanese teams RS Itoh–Kawasaki with Akira Yanagawa, Kasuki Ito and Hitoyasu Izutsu, and Team Plus One (BMW) with Taro Sekiguchi, former GP250 rider like his teammate Daisaku Sakai, seen riding the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team in 2011, and Kousuke Nagoe.
The EWC tests and races will follow one another with the WTCR-FIA World Touring Car Cup during this car-moto weekend including the program can be viewed here.
The motorcycle races will take place on Saturday and the car races on Sunday.
Franco Morbidelli
Illustrations © Petronas and Sepang International Circuit
