THE Sepang 1000km Endurance Race (S1K) will see the introduction of the Independent Cup as a new category for the 2015 edition which runs from tomorrow until Saturday at the Sepang International Circuit.
The move is to bring about more excitement into the seven-year-old event, which will also provide further incentive for private teams to participate in the endurance race.
The S1K was created after its parent race – the Malaysia Merdeka Endurance Race (MMER) continuously attracted more entries than the permitted 77 , resulting in some teams failing to qualify for the actual race.
“It’s only rational for us to create the Independent Cup in view of the increasing number of factory works teams in the S1K. This new category is for those with less funding and also for privateers to experience racing in the S1K, giving them the opportunity to compete with the country’s top drivers.
“With the Independent Cup, teams would not be directly competing against teams with big sponsors and massive funding. The Independent Cup will give die-hard racing enthusiasts and beginners more opportunity to enjoy the race. It is also in line with what we have done for the Malaysia Championship Series, where we introduced the Independence Cup for the MTC (Malaysia Touring Car) class,” said SIC Chief Executive Officer Dato’ Razlan Razali.
First organised in 2009, the S1K is an extended version of the MTC Championship as it adopts the same race regulations. The competition is open to cars between 1,401cc and 1,600cc with each team being allowed to use between two to four drivers in completing 181 laps of the 5.543-km race track.
Last year, factory works team Proton R3 Motorsports dominated the race with a one-two sensational finish through Tengku Djan Ley Tengku Mahaleel-Syafiq Ali (Proton Prevé) and James Veerapen-Tengku Ezan Ley (Proton Suprima S) respectively. Another factory works team and overall winner for the 2013 edition, Honda Malaysia Racing Team, featuring Eddie Lew-Aaron Lim, finished third in their Honda City.
Winner of the Independent Cup will be honoured with trophies and sponsored gifts - JOI Windows 10 tablets from SNS Network, who is also a Local Device Partner of Microsoft and Intel, while winners of the main category get trophies and prize money.
“There will be no cash prize for the Independent Cup, only a winners’ trophy and sponsored gifts. Nevertheless, the victory in itself will be a massive recognition for the teams and their sponsors, and will give the winning team significant bragging rights over their fellow competitors,” said Razlan, who added that teams registering for the Independent Cup will not be required to pay extra for their race entry fees.
Entry fee for the 2015 S1K has been set at RM2,120 per car. Late entries will need to pay RM3,180 per car to race.
The official free practice for the event is scheduled tomorrow with the qualifying session taking place on Friday. The race will be flagged off at 12pm on Saturday.