Fresh from a win in the recent Sepang 1000KM Endurance Race (S1K), Wing Hin Motorsports will compete in foreign territory with its entry in the 10-hour Idemitsu Super Endurance 600 Southeast Asia Trophy. The event, to run on December 23, will be held at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand.
Sole Malaysian flag-bearer
Wing Hin Motorsports will be the sole flag-bearer for Malaysia with a 3-car entry and 6 Malaysian drivers. Its team will consist of 2023 S1K overall champions Amer Harris and Nabil Azlan, Boy Wong and Dannies Ng, and Naquib Azlan and Mitchell Cheah. The first two pairs of drivers will be using the same Toyota Vios racing cars that were used in the S1K, while the third pair will be in a Toyota Yaris, also used in the S1K.
While Naquib, Wong, Cheah and Ng have experienced racing in Thailand, the exposure will be the first for Amer and Nabil.
For Amer, Thailand will also be his first time competing in a saloon car after past competitions in karting. “Based on my experience in karting, the Thai drivers are definitely no slouch, and the teams are all well-prepped with world class equipment. On paper, we may not have the outright pace as most of the other cars are a lot faster in terms of the horsepower output. But based on the team’s previous experiences in Thailand, it seems like horsepower isn’t the answer to winning the races there at all, but more dependent on race strategy and consistency from the drivers, which we are really strong at,” said the 20-year-old.
First year in Thailand
This will be the team’s first time competing in the endurance race, despite already enjoying significant success racing in Thailand in only their first year. In September, the pair of Wong and Naquib emerged D5 class champion in the Idemitsu Super Endurance 400 Minutes race while, in June, the team’s Toyota Vios was entered in the 2023 Idemitsu Super Turbo Championship Junior (Normally Aspirated) Class overall championship. It dominated the races, winning 5 out of the total of 6 rounds throughout the season.
Although not by design, endurance racing has proven to become Wing Hin Motorsports’ strength. The team continued to be placed on the podium at S1K over the last 3 consecutive years (3rd in 2021, 2nd in 2022 and overall winner in 2023).
Benchmarking performance and capabilities
“This year is our first year competing in Thailand and quite frankly, we are incredibly overwhelmed by the results so far. It has always been a goal to compete outside of Malaysia as a means of gauging where we stand in terms of regional competition and to measure our capabilities,” said Wing Hin Motorsports Team Principal, William Loh.
“The competition and the experience we have endured in Thailand has by no means been easy, and ! expect this weekend’s race to be even more challenging with a total of 70 entries, including the participation of top Thai teams. Like every endurance race, it’s very difficult to predict, and all I can say is that we are prepared with not only competitive cars but with a line-up of exceptionally talented as well as experienced drivers. We will be using the same S1K winning cars and we have gone through the process of rebuilding in preparation for Thailand, ” Loh said.
Find out more about the Toyota Vios and Yaris at www.toyota.com.my
Toyota continues winning tradition at Sepang 1000KM endurance race
