Picanto wins GP-4 class in the K4GP Sepang 24 Hours Endurance Race 2011

The Kia Picanto, driven by team Adi Haslam Motorsports, made history over the weekend when it won first place in the GP-4 category in the K4GP Sepang 24-Hours Endurance Race 2011.

The Picanto, which was sponsored by Naza Kia Malaysia Sdn Bhd, completed 378 laps to win the GP-4 class, which is for cars with automatic transmissions, at the endurance race.

In addition to winning its class, the Picanto also made history for being part of the first Malaysian team with disabled drivers to participate in the K4GP Sepang 24 Hours Endurance Race and as the first ever Korean car to enter the race.

“This victory represents the first time a Kia has won a motorsport event in Malaysia. We are also very pleased that this was the only participant from Malaysia with disabled racing drivers,” said Datuk Hafiz Syed Abu Bakar, COO of Naza Kia Malaysia.

For this year’s event, 45 teams with a total of 270 drivers participated. Adi Haslam Motorsports was led by wheel-chair bound Adi Haslam and his fellow disabled driver and former TV3 host, Ras Adiba Radzi.

Other members of the team were Keifli Osman, Halim Muazzam Ayob, Mohammad Zaid Shamsuri and Mohd Diazreen.

The Picanto driven by the team featured hand-operated throttle and brakes for the disabled drivers.

The K4GP race is held twice a year in Japan while the 24-hour endurance race in Sepang is held bi-annually. The 2011 edition of the 24-hour endurance race is the third time the race has been held in Sepang.

The K4GP endurance race is open to cars with an engine capacity of up to 1,300 cc. Each team has between two to eight drivers and is given 350-litres of fuel for their entire duration of the race.

The teams that complete the most number of laps after 24 hours are the winners of the race in their respective categories. There are five categories in total – Overall, Class GP-2, Class GP-3, Class GP-4 and Class GP-5.

There were six teams in total in the GP-4 class and only four teams, led by Adi Haslam Motorsports, finished the race.

source: Naza Kia Press Release