PETALING JAYA: The all-Malaysian team of Wing Hin Motorsports with young drivers Naquib Azlan and Amer Harris Jefry made their presence felt in the first round of the Toyota Gazoo Racing GR86/BRZ Cup yesterday.
Making their debut in the Clubman series, Naquib and Amer made it a double podium finish for the team at the Autopolis International Racing Course in Hita, Japan.
Naquib took first place (22:21.479s) while Amer crossed the line in third (22:27.107s).
Amer had a good chance to keep it close with the Cabana GR driver Tatsuya Minowa of Japan in second, but was just 0.369s away from making it a one-two finish for his team.
Both drivers had put in a good performance during qualifying, where the 24-year-old Naquib managed to squeeze himself into pole position by just 0.039s ahead, while Amer qualified in third place.
Naquib admitted that getting adjusted to the racing scene in Japan was not easy, but the help from everyone in the garage went a long way.
“All in all I’m super happy and relieved for the team to be able to achieve this victory,” said Naquib.
“Transitioning to racing in Japan was a bigger challenge than I anticipated but thanks to our partners here, we were able to debut strong with a double podium.
“It’s a tricky track but very rewarding once you get it right. We had worked hard to tweak the set-up and adapt to the new culture of this country’s racing scene.
“Couldn’t be happier but this is just the start and we will try to maintain this momentum all the way to the end,” he said.
The podium finish for Amer in Japan comes after the 21-year-old also made a stellar debut in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia in China last month, where he finished third in Race 1 and fifth in Race 2 at the Shanghai International Circuit.
The next round of the GR86/BRZ Cup will continue at the Mobility Resort Motegi from May 24-25.
