12h Sepang selected driver quotes after Pole Shotout 09.12.2016: Motul 12 Hours of Sepang Results: 2016 Round 1 - Sepang International Circuit Friday, December 9th, 2016

Motul 12 Hours of Sepang
Results: 2016 Round 1 - Sepang International Circuit
Friday, December 9th, 2016





Fred Makowiecki (#912 Manthey Racing Porsche, pole): “Our main aim for the first part of qualifying was to get a good set-up for the car in the shootout, and that worked out well.


Now we will have to see what the race will bring, because we were a bit behind in the free practice sessions.”



Alvaro Parente (#9 K-PAX Racing McLaren, 2nd overall): “All weekend, the car has been working well over one lap, but today we found something to improve our race pace as well, so we are feeling quite confident.


The red flag at the beginning of the shootout caught me out a bit, but congratulations to the Porsche guys, they did a great job.”




Earl Bamber (#911 Manthey Racing Porsche, 3rd overall): “First of all, I think Porsche did a great job. It’s our first time here with this car, and to put it on places one and three on the grid is really good.


But this is just qualifying, now we have to put in 30 laps in each stint, so that will be a completely different story. It’s going to be a long, hot race.”



Peter Kox (#26 B-Quik Racing Audi, 1st GTC): “I was caught out by the track limits at first, but I was not alone: some other cars were almost in Kuala Lumpur. I nailed it on the second lap though, and this is great for B-Quik Racing.


Team owner Henk Kiks is an old schoolmate of mine and that is how we teamed up. I think it looks ok for the race, but also in terms of the gap towards the GT3-cars. If I can live with that, than I am a happy man.”



Jake Camilleri (#93 MARC Mazda 3 V8, 1st MARC): “It’s the first time for MARC Cars Australia on the Sepang circuit, so it took us some time to get the right set-up.


But we’ve got our head around it now and both cars are quite evenly paced. We’re looking forward to the big day tomorrow.”



Dan Wells (#69 Ayelzo Ecotint Racing Ginetta, 1st GT4): “I have to thank the Ayelzo Ecotint Racing team, to be able to race the Ginetta for the first time in Asia.



We got the car quite late, so there were some set-up issues during free practice, but once the car got going, we were always the quickest of the GT4 cars. I am very happy with this result, considering this is my first Motul Sepang 12 Hours.”



Takuya Shirasaka (#65 Viper Niza Seat, 1st TC): “The Seat is a very different car, but I feel very comfortable. In Japan we are always surrounded by faster cars, and there are always cars with different speeds, so that is no problem.”



Jim Hunter (#77 Jim Hunter Motorsport Subaru, 1st Touring Car): “I guess we were a little bit lucky, for I am not the quickest driver in the group. I just did a few laps to get into a rhythm and then gave it to Grant Johnson, who is the quickest.



But then we had an overheating problem, maybe a gasket blew. It’s the first time we’ve had problems, but I’m sure we can get on top of it.”







- SRO -  Dirk Bogaerts Photography