Narrowly missing out on a win last year, Clearwater Racing is set to make an impact at this year’s MMER complete with a new car in tow as Arjunan Kulasegaram, Managing Director of Clearwater Racing explains.
Tell us about the team you’ll be fielding this year.
We’ll be in the Pro-Am class for GT Class Cars for this MMER. The team is identical to the team we’ve run at the MMER for the past few years. Stability in our crew line-up is something I consider to be one of the footholds of success.
What will the team race in this year’s competition?
We will be using a brand-new Ferrari 458 GT3 (2013 Model).
And who have you selected to drive Clearwater Racing’s fortunes at the upcoming event?
Driving the car will be Clearwater Racing’s Team Principal Mok Weng Sun, Multiple Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Champion Craig Baird and 2008 Japanese Carrera Cup Japan (Gentleman’s Class) Champion, Hiroshi Hamaguchi. Hiroshi currently partners Weng in the GT Asia Series where they share the driving duties aboard Clearwater Racing’s McLaren MP 4-12C GT3.
That’s a pretty impressive line-up! Does Clearwater Racing have a target for the MMER 2013?
Well considering our three DNFs (Did Not Finish) in a row from 2010 to the present, just finishing the race is our top priority. However, an overall podium finish would be nice and a victory to complement our 2008 triumph would be just grand in my opinion.
Speaking of DNFs, Clearwater Racing suffered one at last year’s event. What happened?
Last year we were leading the race when we had a catastrophic Power Steering Pump Failure. Debris from the shattered pump got stuck in the power steering rack and lines and we had no choice but to retire the car.
You mentioned it happened when the team was leading the race, do you think a win was in sight if not for the unforeseen circumstances?
Yes, I honestly do think we would have won last years’ race handsomely were it not for our 8th hour mechanical woes.
Considering that Clearwater Racing has repeatedly taken part in the MMER, what do you think is the most challenging aspect of the race?
The most challenging aspect of any MME race is getting the car to the finish line in one piece! This year, I think car reliability will be greatly helped by the fact that the race will be run from mid-night to mid-day as opposed to the way it has been run for the last two years. The cars’ mechanical and electrical longevity is greatly increased by running less in the blindingly hot mid-day sun and more in the tranquil and cool setting of a mid-night start.
Racing flag off time aside, has the team set forth on any preparations for this year’s event?
Well, we bought a brand new car for a start! After our troubles of the last two years, we made a collective decision to start from a brand new slate as it were and try to go for a victory with a brand new ‘Prancing Stallion’! We’ve also been drilling the boys on their pit stops as I feel it will be key in this year’s event. Hopefully, it’ll all pay off.
