MERITUS.GP is a championship-winning International motorsport team. Based in Asia for the last 25 years and owned by a Malaysian company, the team’s passion is creating international motorsport heroes. Before expanding to Asia in 1995, MERITUS manufactured the first ever Irish sports car, the TMC Costin, and created a winning European heritage. The team now hold 36 FIA Asian titles, winning at every level of the sport under Formula 1 (F4, F3, F2).

Since winning their first Asian championship in 1996 with Narain Karthikeyan – who went on to become India’s first F1 driver – MERITUS.GP have been dedicated to developing Asian talent and are now clearly focused on strategically positioning their brands to cover every sector of the industry in order to realise their future mission:

To train highly skilled young sporting and professional talent as part of a programme to develop an Asian Autosport Ecosystem, creating manufacturing, training, media and sponsorship business in the region.

To facilitate this the team focus on four main areas of expertise:

Engineering

Motorsport enginering and services

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Organisation

Motorsport teams and championships

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Manufacturing

Manufacturing and designing solutions

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Activation

Winning partnerships and benefits

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Engineering

MERITUS have a winning heritage and have developed a platform of key motorsport services:

Engineering

Leading European Chief Engineers and winning race engineers to ensure performance

Mechanics

Dedicated no. 1 mechanics supported by dependable technicians to ensure reliability

Coaching

Winning driver coaches and fitness instructors to maximize potential

Training

Training programs to create highly skilled professionals across motorsport disciplines

International Motorsport Heroes

MERITUS are passionate about creating international motorsport heroes and the team has been a stepping stone for ten F1 drivers, two Indy 500 winners and two 24H LeMans winners

Takuma
Sato

Won Indy 500

Narain
Karthikeyan

Formula 1

Ricardo
Rosset

Formula 1

Vincenzo
Sospri

Formula 1

Anthony
Reid

BTCC

Jazeman
Jaafar

Formula 1

Rio
Haryanto

Formula 1

Earl
Bamber

Won 24H LeMans

Luca
Filippi

Formula 1

Alexander
Rossi

Won Indy 500

Ho-Pin
Tung

Won 24H LeMans

Alex
Yoong

Formula 1

Winning History

Since expanding to Asia 25 years ago MERITUS has accumilated 36 FIA Asian titles, winning at every level of the sport under Formula 1 (F4, F3, F2):

Formula 4 SEA

Currently promoting, organising and providing all engineering services to the FIA F4SEA Championship, focusing on developing young talent in the industry and creating the next geneartion of International Motorsport Heroes.

  • H. David – Renault F1
  • A. Ghiretti – Alfa Romeo F1
  • N. Azman – F3 UK
  • D. Cao – Formula E
  • U. De Wilde – Formula RE
  • D. Frost – IndyCar

2020

2016

AsiaCup Series

After GP2 Asia came to an end and seeing the void left by the Formula BMW Asia Championship, MERITUS decided to organise their own series. AsiaCup was a championship focused on developing young talent in the motorsport industy, giving a start to many young drivers including:

  • J. Love – Porsche Carerra
  • A. Maini – Formula 2
  • C. Herta – IndyCar
  • G. Aubry – LMP2
  • N. Mazepin – Formula 2
  • J. Parsons – Asian Le Mans

2015

2013

Formula Masters China Series

Continuing their winning streak from Formula BMW, MERITUS stepped up to the F3 level Formula Masters, winning multiple races and the 2013 Championship.

2015

2013

Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia

Partnering with Petronas, MERITUS won the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia Series, marking their first return to GT’s since the TMC Costin days

2013

Formula Pilota China

As a precursor to competing in the 2013 Formula Masters Championship MERITUS entered the last 2 rounds of the then Formula Pilota China.

2011

JK Racing Asia Series

MERITUS continued their success in the Formula BMW category in the third incarnation of the championship, the JK Racing Asia Series, after BMW pulled out of Formula racing. The team finished second in the championship after a rule change forced them to split thier 8 drivers across two teams.

2012

2011

GP2 Asia

Reaching their highest point in 2010 with the GP2 Asia series, MERITUS won the vice-championship, before the series ended and the team refocused on organising championships geared at young driver development. During its time in GP2 Asia the team raced:

  • Lucca Filippi
  • Earl Bamber
  • Alex Yoong
  • Alexander Rossi

2010

2008

Formula BMW Pacific

The team continued in the renamed Formula BMW Pacific, winning the 2008 and 2009 championships with Ross Jamison and Rio Haryanto. Rio of course went on to become Indonesia’s first F1 driver.

2010

2008

Formula Renault V6 Asia

Stepping up a tier to the V6-powered Formula Renault which sat somewhere between F3 and F2, MERITUS won both the 2007 and 2008 Championships.

2008

2006

12 Hour of Sepang

In their single outing in prehaps the most prestigous endurance race in Malaysia at the time, MERITUS outlasted the competition to take home the gold.

2003

Formula BMW Asia

MERITUS targeted Formula BMW which was the premier driver development platform in the mid 2000’s, and matched the team’s passion of creating International Motorsport Heroes. They did just that winning four out of the five seasons with:

  • H. Tung – 24H LeMans
  • M. Lee – Audi R8 LMS
  • E. Bamber – 24H LeMans
  • J. Jaafar – FIA WEC

2007

2003

Formula Renault Macau

MERITUS and Takuma Sato won the Formula Renault Macau GP

1999

Formula Asia 2000

MERITUS started their Asian Adventure winning the Formula Asia 2000 Championship in 1996 with Narain Karthikeyan, who went on to become India’s first F1 driver, sparking the team’s passion for working with young talent in the region. MERITUS won the championship 5 times with:

  • Narain Karhikeyan
  • Bagoes Hermanto
  • Nattapong Horthongkum
  • Ng Wai-Leong

2002

1996

Formula 3000

After finding success in single-seaters, MERITUS developed a passion for the category which would define their now thirty year history. Taking their first step up in the category MERITUS entered the 1994 Formula 3000 championship.

1995

1994

Formula Opel Lotus

After the success of the TMC Costin race programme, MERITUS ventured into the single-seater category and kick-started their championship-winning heritage

1995

1988

TMC Costin sold to Don Panoz, creating the now famous PANOZ Automotive

At the height of the TMC Costin’s racing fame the project was sold to Don Panoz, creating Panoz Automotive, designer of the cars which won the Indy 500 and 24H LeMans

1988

British and Irish GT

Seeing the potential of the high-performance Costin, the team decided to go racing and entered every available British and Irish GT Championship, setting tracks ablaze with the first ever Irish Sports Car.

1988

1984

TMC Costin

Test test test

1983

Organisation

Following the end of the GP2 Asia Series and realising the void left by Formula BMW, MERITUS changed their focus from running teams to organising championships, with the goal of working with youth in the region to develop skills and talent in the industry.

Noting the key issue experienced by all young drivers in the sport, MERITUS created their ‘ONE Concept’ to ensure a cost-effective and equal platform to transition drivers from karting to single seater careers

One Team

All engineering services provided by MERITUS.GP

One Make

All drivers use the same car, to create an equal field

One Track

All races at one track to minimise logistic costs

One Data

Open data to ensure equality and facilitate learning

One Cost

Everyone pays the same and no-one can buy an advantage

One Dream

To reach the pinnacle of motorsport!

Championships

Utilsing the ONE concept, MERITUS organised the AsiaCup Series, based at the Sepang F1 Circuit. The series utilized the FB02 race car from Formula BMW, which the team had worked with during the previous decade, and engineered it into a reliable machine for transitioning junior karters.

The series ran for three years and trained 70+ drivers; the FIA rewarded this success by upgrading the team to organise Formula 4 South East Asia.

The AsiaCup Series was based at Sepang and transitioned 70+ drivers over 3 years while working with local colleges to develop careers.

Noting the success of AsiaCup the FIA awarded the rights to F4 South East Asia to MERITUS, who adapted the ONE concept to a zone championship.

Formula 4 Success

The team initiated a good thing with their ONE concept and have already found success with many drivers moving on to bigger and better things:

Jake
Parsons

Japanese F3

Nikita
Mazepin

Formula 2

Gabriel
Aubry

LMP2

Colton
Herta

IndyCar

Arjun
Maini

Formula 2

Jordan
Love

Carrera Cup

Presley
Martono

MRF

Danial
Frost

IndyCar

Ugo
De Wilde

Formula 3

Daniel
Cao

Formula 3

Nazim
Azman

Formula 3

Alessandro
Ghiretti

Formula 3

Hadrian
David

Formula 3

Manufacturing

MERITUS started off in Ireland forty years ago, where the first Irish sports car was produced by the Thompson brothers during the 1980’s at their family home.

The TMC Costin was designed by Frank Costin and built by Val, Peter, Sean and Anthony, before the project was sold to Danny Panoz in 1988, creating the now-famous Panoz Automotive.

In 1995 Peter Thompson met with Danny’s father Don, and convinced him to build an endurance car for Le Mans; Panoz went on to win Le Mans and Indy 500 four times as a constructor.

Since then the team has been focused on results on the track, but they have never forgotten their manufacturing roots, working to improve the reliability and performance of the racecars, while partnering with OEM’s in the region to develop specialised motorsport products.

With the success of the team’s championships MERITUS are now looking to become more involved in the production of the next generation of single-seater race cars in Asia.

Activation

Winning is business – a business that creates the ideal platform for networking and activating winning partnerships. The team’s sponsorship partners are the driving force behind our success and MERITUS has developed key areas to maximise their ROI:

Networking

Utilizing events as focal points to realise business and opportunities, while motivating existing contacts and rewarding performance

Streaming & TV

All races are livestreamed on Facebook with full graphics and commentary, then televised on FOX Sports 3 to 7,728,230 households

Media campaign

Comprehensive social media and print campaign, modelled after the Formula 1 programme, boosted to maximise reach