The Super GT International Series Malaysia was held as the fourth round, which marks the beginning of its middle phase, of the Super GT series as it had been for several years. This was the tenth Sepang round since it began in 2000 as an exhibition "all-star" event (the 2003 version was canceled due to SARS) and the only overseas event of the series that otherwise visits major race tracks in Japan.

Kondo Racing's HIS ADVAN Kondo GT-R, which took the fourth victory in the team's history in the opening round of this year, was the winning car of this Sepang round in 2007 and 2008. With having a pre-season testing here again this year, the team obviously had enough knowledge on the track surface and the car set-up.

While other teams' GT-Rs received updated engines from this race , HIS ADVAN Kondo GT-R had to use an older version. The newer engines seemed to have much more power and the Kondo's car struggled to close the time gap with the other GT-Rs, even though the combination of tires and the chassis was very good. Therefore, the team didn't expect a good qualifying position but they were quietly confident of the performance in a long stint during the race.

In the Super Lap system qualifying sessions, the qualifying attacker of HIS ADVAN Kondo GT-R, J.P. de Oliveira, managed to cut 1'59" line and the car was allowed to run in the Super Lap session which decided the top eight positions. But, on the crucial qualifying lap, the car had a problem with its transmission which prevented to register any lap time and was forced to start the race from the eighth grid.

In the GT300 class, M7 Mutiara Motors Amemiya SGC 7 entered by M7 RE Amemiya Racing got much attention because they have always been so strong in Sepang. After taking the class victory in the first Malaysian round in 2000 - non-championship "All Star" race -, the car won as many as four races out of eight races it had participated (the team was absent in 2001) which was an incredible win ratio. Of course, the car was considered as the strongest favorite this year again.

After dominating the official practice sessions, the leading driver of M7 Mutiara Motors Amemiya SGC 7, Nobuteru Taniguchi, set the fastest time in the first qualifying session and easily went on to the Super Lap. However, he made a small mistake in the decisive lap, probably because of being overeager, and let the pole position slip through his fingers. Still his lap time was second fastest and the car took the front row position for the race. Interestingly, other two leading ADVAN shoed cars, RIRE Lamborghini RG-3 entered by JLOC and Weds Sport IS350 by Racing Project Bandoh, sat on the fourth and sixth grids respectively and lined up on the outside line, leaving the other line for the opponent tire manufacturers.

As it's too hot during midday hours, the race was scheduled to start in the late afternoon of Sunday as usual. But the temperatures were 35/44℃ (air/surface) at 16:00 when the formation lap started and it looked to be a tough race.

HIS ADVAN Kondo GT-R started the race with de Oliveira at the wheel. Although he was well-known for his driving through the congestion just after the start and gaining positions, he completed the opening lap in seventh, earning only one place as one of the leading cars spun off.

The race itself was rather quiet but the Brazilian was forced to go off the course in the aftermath of a close battle with an opponent on Lap 12. This sent him down to tenth at that time but, with steady driving, he recovered to sixth when he came back to the pit to change to Hironobu Yasuda, after completing 25 laps.

Yasuda resumed the race in 12th. For his grief, however, the deficit of engine power was obvious against other GT-Rs with the updated engines. But some of the opponents were forced to slow down under the very tough conditions in the closing stage of the race and his indomitable drive resulted in finishing in ninth. By adding two precious points, they were able to stay in seventh in both Drivers' and Teams' championship.

The race in the GT500 class saw many battles everywhere on the track but the competition in the lesser classes were even harder. And its leading actors were M7 Mutiara Motors Amemiya SGC 7, a Ferrari (car no.11) and a Porsche (car no.33).

The Ferrari led the opening lap but was soon taken over by the Porsche. Being passed by the Porsche on Lap 1, M7 Mutiara Motors Amemiya SGC 7 overtook the Ferrari on Lap 9 to move up to second and then caught the Porsche to take the lead position on six lap later. The two opponent cars were built to the FIA-GT specifications which meant faster on the straightaway, so it was normally quite difficult for the Amemiya's car to overtake them but, just as the team anticipated, they were hard on the tires here. The team wisely chose the car set-up which would conserve the tires and planned to keep up with the FIA-GT cars and wait until their tires degrade. As soon as the opponents' lap times slightly dropped, Taniguchi began to attack and just proved that the team's strategy was right.

Meanwhile, another ADVAN equipped car drew attention after the start. I.M.Jihan Co. Ltd Apple Shiden, which entered by Cars Tokay Dream28, was hit by a mechanical problem in the first qualifying session and wasn't able to set any lap time. Consequently, the car had to start from the back end of the grids but displayed a tremendous catch-up from there. After overtaking as many as seven cars during the opening lap, the Shiden went on to move up the field and was already in eighth on Lap 8 and then sixth on five laps later.

Even though the car spun at the final corner on Lap 19, being hit from behind by an opponent, it temporarily came up to second in the class. But unfortunately its starter motor failed when the car made a scheduled pit stop to change the driver, which resulted in retirement. Anyway, I.M.Jihan Apple Shiden was certainly one of the stars in the first half of the race.

The race leader, Taniguchi, came in the pit at the end of Lap 27 as planned. When Ryo Orime resumed racing, the car was in sixth but, as the opponents made their pit stops, he moved towards the front of the field and eventually regained the top slot on Lap 36. Orime's pace was steady and consistent but a concern raised about ten laps to go. The car's steering rod became distorted. It reminded them of a bad memory that the same rod snapped at Okayama, the second round of the season, which sent the car out of the race. However, because they already had a substantial advantage against the opponent in second, Orime was instructed to slow down by two seconds a lap and drive carefully to preserve the damaged part. This cautious approach paid off and he was able to bring the car to the finish all in one piece and score the class win.