Petronas Yamaha MotoGP rider Franco Morbidelli will join Michael van der Mark and local man Hafizh Syahrin in a works squad for the inaugural Sepang Eight-Hours.
It will be Morbidelli's first foray into endurance but van der Mark has four Suzuka Eight-Hours title under his belt and the bike will be supplied by YART.
"I’m curious to see how an endurance race format suits me, and I’m really looking forward to it," said Morbidelli.
"It’s a different thing, it’s something nice, and when Razlan asked me to do it I thought ‘sure, why not?’ The combination of Yamaha and Sepang Racing Team means it should be a strong package, and it’ll be nice to race with a production bike again.
"Riding bikes is always good for staying in shape, so it’s nice to be able to race in December. I’ve trained with a YZF-R1 before so I’ve got an idea of what to expect, but I’m sure the endurance superbike will be very different."
The race will take place under the brand-new state-of-the-art floodlights at the Sepang International Circuit as part of a ground-breaking fusion of the worlds of two-and-four-wheel motorsport under the headline, Races of Malaysia.
As well as hosting the FIM Endurance World Championship race, the event will also see the FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) take place alongside.
