SIC win best Grand Prix award for the second time

KUALA LUMPUR: The Sepang International Circuit (SIC) have received further recognition after the recent Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix was named as the best Grand Prix of 2017.

The MotoGP World Championship this year comprised 18 rounds and Sepang hosted the penultimate event from Oct 27-29.

Despite the rainy weather over the weekend, the three-day event drew a massive turnout of 166,486 spectators at the circuit.

That’s an all-time high figure since Sepang started hosting the prestigious two-wheel race in 1999 – surpassing the 161,533 total attendance from last year.

A total of 97,457 fans watched Italian Andrea Dovizioso claim victory for Ducati to prevent Spaniard Marc Marquez from claiming the MotoGP world title in Sepang this year.

Marquez eventually claimed the crown in Valencia two weeks later.

A total of 22,794 fans attended the practice sessions on Friday while another 46,235 turned up for the qualifying day on Saturday.

SIC chief executive officer Datuk Razlan Razali said that “it’s a great honour to receive the award”.

“This is the second time we have won this award. The first was in 2012.

“It shows the dedication and competency of our organising team. I am happy that our abil- ity to host big international events are recognised.

“This will lift the spirits of all SIC staff.

“It reiterates our position that MotoGP is now the biggest motor sport event for SIC and Malaysia,” he said.

The SIC have already signed the rights to host the world championship event until 2021. Oil company Shell has also agreed to continue as the title sponsor up to 2020.

Malaysia will also host the penultimate round next year from Nov 2-4.

The calendar next year will have 19 stops, with Thailand hosting its first-ever race at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram from Oct 5-7.