Aston Martin selects MSSA as exclusive Asian distributor for Vantage GT race cars

By MUHAMMAD ARIEF CHE SOH
arief@dagangnews.com

KUALA LUMPUR 12 March. - Motorsports Services AMR Asia Limited (MSAA), run by a Malaysian race car driver has been selected as Aston Martin’s exclusive distributor of all variants of Vantage GT race cars, parts and technical support for China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and the south-east Asian region.

To note, the race car driver, Weiron Tan takes on the role of MSAA Director.

The newly-formed organisation is tasked with expanding the British luxury sports car brand’s motorsport footprint in the region. 

The primary targets for the expansion will be the 2022 Asian Le Mans Series, the GTWC Asia and the burgeoning China GT Championship.

Tan said they are very happy to conclude the partnership between Aston Martin Racing and MSAA to become the official representatives and distributor for Asia. 

"It’s been a challenging year for the motorsport industry, especially in the Asian region, because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"Nevertheless, we are certain that the timing of this announcement and the infrastructure we are putting in place will allow us to repay the faith of Aston Martin and expand the AMR GT racing footprint throughout the region, providing quality service and support to our valued customers," said him in a statement.

MSAA will begin servicing the region immediately from its existing workshop near Sepang in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and a second base of operations in Zhuhai to serve the Chinese market thus avoiding any pandemic-related supply chain issues.

The 2018 China GT champions Team ZWEI - formerly known as BSEM Racing, long-time partners of AMR will be the first team to work with MSAA in China, and will race their Aston Martin Vantage GT4s. 

ZWEI will graduate to Race Partner status in China, with their sights set firmly on winning races and GT4 Championships in China in 2021.

Further major announcements are expected in the coming weeks.

Meantime, President of Aston Martin Racing, David King said, they have viewed China and the Southeast Asian region as a key strategic area of growth in motorsport for some time. 

"Now with the continued and growing success of Vantage in the GT3 and GT4 the global GT arena, we have the perfect platform with which to do this. 

"MSAA gives us the ability to provide work level servicing across Asia and assist our partners as they compete for championships with Aston Martin,” he added.

The selection of MSAA as the Southeast Asian distributor is the latest step in Aston Martin Racing’s strategy to extend and support its global network of partner teams.

Alongside the expanded programme of deploying on-the-ground and remote support from its FIA GT World Endurance Manufacturers’ Championship-winning engineers and technicians, MSAA becomes the third established regional hub to provide local support and technical assistance. - DagangNews.com