M’sia bid farewell to F1 Grand Prix after 19 years as host
KUALA LUMPUR: The most prestigious and glamorous motorsport, the Formula One (F1) Grand Prix held at the iconic Sepang International Circuit (SIC) last weekend will remain a distant memory for the future generation and motorsport enthusiasts in the country after the government decided part ways after playing host for 19 glorious years.
The ‘Malaysian F1 finale’ which ended on October 1, was witnessed by 110,604 fans over the three days and exceeded the expected target of 102,000 fans and from the total, 56,015 had attended on race day.
Suffice to say that the 19th edition of the most prestigious event in the world motor sport calendar had received encouraging response, especially from international audience compared with local motor sport enthusiasts.
“The SIC team received very positive feedback from international agencies regarding ticket packages. However for the local market, it was quite discouraging and as usual, they waited until the last minute,” Sepang International Circuit Sdn Bhd (SIC) chief executive officer Datuk Razlan Razali told Bernama.
The staging of F1 races in Sepang which saw a great and exciting motor sport event since 1999, ended in a very sentimental manner, albeit having created a great deal of history in the challenging racing circuit, not only in terms of its racing track design but uncertain weather and winners, thus establishing Malaysia on the world map in the history of F1.
Many fans want the Malaysian Government to reconsider the termination of the contract to host the prestigious event, which was ended due to economic reasons.
A die-hard F1 fan from Australia, Simon Anderson when met by Bernama was disappointed as the Malaysian Government had decided not to host the Malaysian F1 GP next year.
“It was sad news...the Malaysian GP is the cheapest among any other Asian countries that hosted the race. The government should have reconsidered the decision,” said the 23-year-old Anderson from Sydney, Australia, adding that Malaysian GP was always full of excitement and unpredictable due to the hot and humid weather.
Formula One chairman and chief executive officer, Chase Carey, said he was thankful to Malaysia for successfully boosting the popularity of the sport in the Southeast Asian region.
“We’ve had a great history here. But change is part of life. We’re actually very excited about the opportunities we have in Asia in general. We have a number of places where we have great interest and new opportunities to continue to grow the sport,” said Carey, who replaced former supremo Bernie Ecclestone in January.