Malaysia F1 GP’s fate to be known this weekend

> Special meeting on Thursday to discuss future of race at Sepang International Circuit

KUALA LUMPUR: The fate of the Formula 1 (F1) Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) will likely be known by the end of this week, said SIC CEO Datuk Razlan Razali.

He said there will be a special meeting to discuss the matter with the Finance Ministry, which is SIC’s major stakeholder, on Thursday.

“F1 ticket sales here have gone down since 2014. In contrast, the Malaysia Motorcycle GrandPrix (MotoGP) looks more promising in terms of attracting spectators and its potential spillover effects,” he said at a media briefing here yesterday.

Malaysia first started hosting the F1 in Sepang in 1999.

Razlan, however, said he will be in no hurry to issue an official announcement of the discontinuation of F1 in Malaysia as SIC has a “watertight agreement” with the licensed holders until 2018.

“A temporary withdrawal from F1 (after 2018) could be beneficial for the country to take a break. Currently, some say, the product (F1) is no longer exciting as it is being dominated by one team.

“An initial report for the last F1 race also showed that television viewership in Malaysia was the lowest in history,” he said, adding that Singapore’s F1 also reportedly registered a 20%decline in ticket sales.

Razlan hinted at SIC focusing to develop the MotoGP.

MotoGP, the world’s biggest motorcycling event, was first staged at the Batu Tiga Circuit in Shah Alam in 1991 before shifting to the Pasir Gudang Circuit, Johor, in 1998. The Sepang Circuit hosted its first MotoGP in 1999.

This weekend, at the Shell Malaysia MotoGP 2016, the 26th Malaysia MNotoGP is set to be another crowd-puller, following last year’s sellout silver jubilee race.

“Last year we saw 85,000 spectators for our MotoGP. This year, as all the tickets were already sold, we target a record 90,000 spectators. Moving forward, if all parties collaborate, inclusive of the ministries of tourism, sports and communication, we may improve,” he said. – Bernama