And what a race it was. Magnificent ! That is the only word that can do justice to what Team Honda Kunimitsu's DC5 Integra Type-R acheived for the 2003 Merdeka Millenium Endurance race. The Kunimitsu DC5 not only dominated its class almost right from the start of the race till the finish; in only Honda's first try, it actually finished on the podium, taking 3rd place overall and ahead of many higher Class O entries.
In this article, I will try to my best to explain the highlights of the race and what the Kunimitsu DC5 had to fight against. The Kunimitsu DC5 Integra Type-R competed in Class A which is for series production cars above 1.9l and for all series production sports cars. Below Class A are Classes B & C for series production cars (4 doors saloon and 3 doors hatch) with smaller engines. For all these 3 classes, while the modification rules are still quite liberal, it mandates that the original engine and suspension geometry is maintained. Thus the cars that are raced in Classes A, B and C are virtually modified versions of those that are driven on the roads, except for the stripped interior and roll-cages. Then above Class A is Class O the so-called 'open category'. Here, anything goes so there were some very wild and very fast cars competing in this class for the MME. These included several GT-spec cars, super-cars like Toyota Supras and Subaru WRX'es and even open-seater prototype race cars ! And the Kunimitsu DC5 actually out-raced most of these cars to take 3rd place overall.
The MME is raced in a 12-hours endurance format. The sporting regulations for this race specifies a requirement for 3 drivers and for each driver to complete 4 hours of accumulated driving time. But each driving stint is to last for a max of only 2 hours before a driver change is mandatory meaning each driver must drive at least 2 stints for the race. This means that each competing car will have to do at least 5 pit-stops for at least 6 driver changes (the last driver drives to the finish line so there's no pit-stop after). In practice, most of the teams did a lot more than 5 pit-stops. The car itself will have to be raced for the full 12-hours non-stop except of course for the brief periods during each pit-stop.
A number of the Class O cars suffered from mechanical problems of various kinds which helped the Kunimitsu DC5 in beating them. While the uninformed casual spectator will put it down to just plain good luck (on the part of the Kunimitsu DC5), race-enthusiasts knows that this is one of the features of an endurance race that makes it so unique and entertaining to watch. For an endurance race, skills, reliability and plain strategy plays a much larger part than just plain luck. Mechanical reliability (and failures) features prominently in endurance races. The best teams will pace themselves carefully throughout the race, preserving the car's reliability, conserving the tyres, saving fuel and minimizing driver fatigue. As each driver may drive for up to 2 hours in a stretch, it is of utmost importance to ensure that the driver is at his/her peak as much as possible throughout each stint. Each of the 3 drivers must drive for a total of 4 hours and only a valid medical reason certified by the chief medical officer is allowed for exemption. The sporting regulations goes on to further specifically highlight that 'Exhaustion is not a medical reason' ! This means that if the team is not careful and one of the drivers literally drives himself to the gound, the whole team will suffer because that driver still have to complete the 4 hours quota ! Driver fatigue can lead many problems - a mis-shift can destroy the gearbox or a mis-judgement can throw the car into the sand-pit. Even the mighty Schumacher brothers (Micheal and Ralf in Formula-1) often puts ample emphasis into conserving themselves and their cars in order to ensure victory in a race.
For me, the MME started with a special effort to reach the Sepang circuit half an hour before the race starts. I wanted to check out the starting grid - it's the only time to check out every car that is racing in the race. They were announcing the starting grid as I arrived at the grand-stand and I was immediately elated to hear that Team Honda Kunimitsu qualified in P13 overall with Team Westar in P16. Then I saw the starting grid and was reminded that two open-seater prototype racing cars, Radical SR3s with formula-type Hayabusa engines are competing ! There's a huge line-up of Porsche 911 GT3s, a Toyota Supras, Mitsubishi EVOs, etc. It was simply amazing the DC5s managed to qualified so high-up !! I took photos of some of the more fascinating cars in the starting grid to illustrate the kind of competition the DC5s ran against. Some of the photos are courtesy of my Honda Club photographer Yan, who attended the race with me.
 | The Radical SR3 open-wheel racer of BSA Motorsports took pole position. Driven by Stuart Moseley, Simon Moulton and Kozi Kalaitzidis, this car topped qualifying with a lap time of 2'15.184" - barely 10 seconds slower than a 500cc MotorGP superbike (which qualifies in SIC at around 2'05" )! For comparison, JGTC GT500 racers qualifies in high 1' 50s" while the Formula-1 cars qualifies in around 1' 30" ! The 2nd position was occupied by a Porsche 911 GT3 GT-class race car which clocked 2'16.869", also fielded by BSA Motorsports. It is amazing that both of these cars eventually finished the race behind the No 26 DC5 of team Honda Kunimitsu ! |
 | The Amprex BMW M3 Coupe, which is a GT class car that emitted perhaps the best engine sound in the race. This qualified third fastest with a time of 2:17:057 and was side by side with yet another Porsche 911 GT3 GT-class race car from the Jaseri Racing team which was driven by Malaysia's ex-F1 driver Alex Yoong and the son of our Prime Minister, Mokhzani Mahathir. |
 | Some of the other cars that qualified ahead of the two DC5 Integras, mostly Class O cars, Toyota Supra, many Porsche 911 GT3, TVRs, and a Subaru WRX Imprezza. The yellow Lotus Elise however was listed as Class A. It qualified with a very good time of 2'31.597". Again it's amazing that almost all of these either did not finish the race or finished behind the two DC5 Integras ! |
 | No 26 Honda Kunimitsu DC5 Integra Type-R lining up in P13 besides one of the Team Petronas Nissan Pulsar N15s. The Nissan Pulsars were classified in Class O which leads me to suspect that they are ex Touring Car racers, perhaps ex-BTCC or ex-JTCC cars. However, according to the Petronas Motorsports official web-site, the team also successfully campaigned a similar car 3 years ago in the Korean InterTEC race at Pusan which was listed as 1.6l DOHC 16V NA and 230ps. I wonder which spec these MME Nissans really have. They qualified in P14 & P15, splitting the two DC5 Integra Type-Rs. For comparisons, the Honda Kunimitsu DC5 qualified with a time of 2'32.727" while the Westar DC5 clocked 2'33.049". The two Nissan Pulsars clocked 2'32.774" and 2'32.932". But remember the Nissans are in Class O which means they probably had engine swaps whereas the DC5s are in Class A which makes them more or less stock by comparison. |
 | These cars are lined up behind the DC5 Integras, Porsches, TVRs, various Lotus, and all the Mitsubishi Evolutions ! Who says 4WD will always be faster than FF ?! |
 | These two entries caught my eye - an EP3 Civic Type-R entered by a privateer team lining up beside a Lotus Elise and in front of a TVR and a Mitsubishi Evolution ! But the glimpse of the row in front is even more shocking. What's that in front of the EP3 and Lotus Elise ? The black one is another Lotus Elise but the car besides the black Lotus ? That, my friends, is a Class C EF9 Civic SiR !! What on earth is a 14 year old model doing in front of TVRs, Lotus'es, Evolutions and an EP3 Civic Type-R ?! |
Then there were the cars that did not made it to the starting grid. Team KosmoRacing was nowhere to be seen. Later when I dropped by for a short visit to the Honda hospitality suite I asked the Honda Malaysia people and they told me that Team KosmoRacing failed to meet the qualifying time. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Ford Malaysia officially entered a Ford Lynx running a 1.8l B8-Turbo in Class O which also failed to qualify for the starting grid. From the official race souvenior programme, cars amongst the list of entries which failed to show up in the starting grid included a 300hp S15 Nissan Silvia specially brought in by 'Team Falken' for the race. I also saw cars like Ford Mondeo, Toyota Altezza, and even a Ferrari F355 listed that did not show up on the grid. I understand that the Ferrari F355 was the last car to qualify from Class O & A in P21 but could not race due to mechanical problems. Apparently some of the cars listed were also pulled out or replaced by other cars but the programme was not properly corrected.
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| One of the Class O Toyota Supras in a pit-stop |
As I have highlighted, an endurance race is very much about the drivers and the race strategy. The MME features a rolling start, probably to cater for the Class O cars. As the cars crossed the starting line, I saw the Kunimitsu DC5 sneak up right to the side of the Lotus Elise that was just ahead, keeping just a nose behind until after the starting line before out dragging it to the first corner. But the superior power of the Class O cars were telling. Within the first few laps, the Kunimitsu DC5 fell from P13 to around P17 (by my counting, since only the first 10 positions are listed on the positions board). Right from the start too I was amazed to see the top teams pushing their cars right to the max. One of the Radical SR3 open-seaters was fighting neck to neck with the BMW M3 Coupe for the lead, eventhough the race was barely 1 hour old ! I kept wondering how the cars will be able to last for the full 12 hours at the rate they were being pushed. Meanwhile, it was clear the DC5s were already being carefully paced even at this early stage of the race. It was apparent how much advantage the superior experience of the Team Honda Kunimitsu gave. During the early part of the race, one of the yellow Class O Porsche GT3 was chasing the Kunimitsu DC5. Eventually it overtook the DC5 in the back straight, the DC5 yeilding relatively easily. Even to my eyes it was clear the DC5 was not putting up a real fight, clearly conserving itself. As if to emphasize my thoughts, on the very next lap, I saw the DC5 zoomed past and back in its original position ahead of the Porsche GT3 which was now several seconds behind ! Looks very much like the Porsche GT3 over-committed somewhere thus allowing the DC5 to breeze past it again, a result of pushing it too hard perhaps ?
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| Two Class A Mitsubishi Evolutions in the pits |
Besides driver fatigue, a good fuel consumption is crucial to succeeding in the MME. The sporting regulations permits a fuel tank of 50 litres in size. The refueling rig is a standard issue as usual. Actually for this MME, it looked like a rather simple construct really. The racing fuel is standardized and supplied by the race organizers in a standard sized cone topped cylinder. This cylinder is mounted upside-down on top of a tall wheeled structure. Fuel flows from the fuel cylinder through a standard sized transparent fuel hose and out through the nozzle mounted at the other end. So it seems that nothing more than simple gravity is used to get the fuel to flow into the fuel tank - it is not pumped in. When I got a chance to visit the pits courtesy of Honda Malaysia, I watched several pit stops being made and each time the refueling task took a painfully long time. The sporting regulations prevents anyone other than the refueller from touching the car during refuelling, mainly for safety reasons. So the sequence of a pit-stop involves first the driver getting out of the car, then the excruciatingly long refueling sequence before the next driver can get into the car and the mechanics change the tyres or do other things. So fuel consumption now plays a significant part in the pit-stop as obviously the less fuel the car drinks during a stint means a much shorter time for refuelling is needed. It is clear why Spoon Sports was able to use the Fit (Jazz) to successfully campaign in endurance races in Japan. Ichishima (Spoon Sports head honcho) was even talking about winning its class using the Spoon Racing Fit for next year !
For the race itself, all the cars were strangely quite consistent in their lap times, perhaps due to the race strategy used. The top Class O cars were lapping in the mid to high 2min 20secs (typically 2' 28"), while the leaders in Class A (as represented by the Kunimitsu DC5) were lapping around low 2min 30secs (typically 2' 32"). Meanwhile the Class B and Class C cars were lapping in low 2min 40secs. Pretty consistent given the large discrepency in performance especially between the Class B cars and Class O cars.
I planned my courtesy visit to the pits to be around the 2 hours mark after the start of the race, hoping to see a pit-stop by the Honda cars. It turned out to be quite nicely timed as besides watching some of the Honda cars making their stops, I was able to witness the first stop made by Team Honda Kunimitsu !
The pit-stop itself was straight-forward; the mechanics started clearing people from the front of the pit-stop box early, then it was a long wait before the No 26 Kunimitsu DC5 came in. The first driver, the legend himself Takahashi Kunimitsu quickly got out and next came the excruciatingly long wait for the refueling to complete. Everyone got tense as it seemed to take forever before the refueller finally signalled the completion of the refuelling process. The Kunimitsu DC5 is equipped with a built-in 4 point air-jack so the next driver quickly got in (after a lengthy briefing by T Kunimitsu during the refueling process) and the mechanics proceeded to change the tyres. Suddenly 5 hole rims quickly cease to be such a nice feature as the process of fitting each wheel becomes more tedious - each nut needs to be carefully threaded in by hand first before the air-gun can be used to safely tighten it. It's crucial for an efficient pit-stop - using an air-gun recklessly runs the risk of cross-threading the nuts and that will quickly destroy any chance of winning the race. With 5 lugs per wheel, each wheel suddenly seemed to take that much longer to mount ! Finally the mechanics completed their work. There was a brief moment of mis-communication as the driver was waiting for the signal to leave the pits whereas the pit stop mechanics were gesturing wildly for him to get moving. Luckily it took only a split second for the driver to realize everything was ready and off he goes. I took photos of the entire sequence and used them below to illustrate the first pit-stop made by the Honda Kunimitsu DC5. I hope you like that moving-gif I made of the No 26 Kunimitsu DC5 leaving the pits !
 1) No 26 Honda Kunimitsu DC5 comes into the pits! |
 2) The driver stops smartly in the box and literally throws himself out. |
 3) I love those HIDs ! This is my favourite shot of the pit-stop ! |
 4) 'Come ON !' Everyone gets impatient, Refuelling is taking forever ! |
 5) Finally ! The car is refuelled and the mechanics throw themselves at the car |
 6) Pit-stop complete ! The No 26 Honda Kunimitsu DC5 charges out of the pits and back into the race ! |
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| Fantastic shot of the Kunimitsu DC5 exiting the final corner ahead of a Lotus Elise, a Toyota Corolla and the EF9 Civic |
I left the pits, returned the pit-pass to Honda Malaysia and proceeded to check out the race from various vantage points in the grandstand. The 'Petronas Tower' which is located right at the apex of the final corner between the back and front straights is a must-visit vantage point for any race. As the cars charge into the final corner at maximum speed, we will hear the high pitch squeals of the brakes and the driver frantically down-shifting to enter the corner. But in the MME, this was much less of an 'event' than other races like JGTC for e.g. because most of the cars were pacing themselves into and out of the corner. The Honda Kunimitsu DC5 in particular clearly did not dragged to max-revs on exit from the corner. The characteristic glorious high-pitched whine of a VTEC engine at 9000rpm was clearly missing. Boy did I miss that ! But fortunately, the BMW M3 Coupe seemed to be still pushing it to the max and provided plenty of high quality audio entertainment - an equally spine-tingling sound indeed !
The race strategy used by both the Honda Kunimitsu DC5 and the dealer Westar DC5 was already beginning to pay dividends even at the 1/3 point of the race (4 hours after the start) as the two DC5s were alternating between P5 & P6 and P6 & P7 respectively. By 3pm, I was exhausted by the excitement of the day and decided to leave for home, planning to watch the conclusion from the comfort of home. At that time, the Kunimitsu & Westar DC5s were in P6 & P7 respectively. Later on saturday, after a nice rest, I tuned in to watch the staggered live telecast on TV (they telecast parts of the race and alternate it with the regular TV programmes) and was elated to see that No 26 Kunimitsu DC5 had secured P5 ! Finally the TV station telecasted the final half an hour of the race live and again I shouted in joy as the No 26 Kunimitsu DC5 was already in P3 (overall) by then. Behind it in P4 (overall) was the 2nd car in Class A, a Lotus Elise but I was worrying for no reason because I eventually found out the Lotus was more than 4 laps behind - there was no way it could put up any sort of a threat to the Kunimitsu DC5. Finally the glorious moment came as the race ended with two Porsche 911 GT3s, team Meritus-2 and Naza Motorsports taking overall P1 and P2 for the MME race and with the mighty Honda Kunimitsu DC5 Integra Type-R crossing the finish line in P3 overall and winning Class A outright. Very Magnificent indeed !! Meanwhile, no less impressive would be the No 28 Westar DC5 Integra Type-R which managed to finish in P6 overall and taking P3 for Class A.
And so the race finally ended with a glorious Class A victory and an overall P3 and P6 for the all conquering DC5 Integra Type-Rs ! A fantastic race and a magnificent victory for Honda as the famous motto is well lived up to : "We LOVE Racing". Indeed all Honda enthusiasts do !
Wong KN
September 2003
© Temple of VTEC Asia
Many thanks to Honda Malaysia for providing me the opportunity to cover
part of the race from the pits.