The number of visitors to the Malaysian Grand Prix isn’t as strong as it used to be, according to the Chief Executive of Sepang International Circuit. “I have to admit we’re suffering a bit with these new races,” said Sepang CEO Ahmad Razlan Ahmad Razali in the Bangkok Post.
He has attributed the inconsistent number to the rising number of International races in the Asian region. In 1999, apart from Japan, Malaysia was the only other Asian circuit on the F1 calendar. Since then, there have been a number of new tracks including China, Singapore and Korea along with the construction of an Indian track.
“This year we got nearly 100,000 fans to attend the race. But the numbers are up and down every year. It depends on a lot of things. The economy is also a big part,” said Razali.
Razali has suggested to Bernie Ecclestone for both the Malaysian GP and the Singapore GP to be held back to back. This is said to allow international visitors to attend both races by planning a long holiday without traveling twice. “We’ve talked to the FIA about it but we have to wait and see. Maybe it will be possible in the future,” he added.
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My guess is that Bernie won’t grant us this. The Singaporean campaign is too strong and much better than ours. I’d say let Singapore steal the F1 limelight. But as long as Malaysia is the destination for motorsports in the region.
Need more rallies! Too much F1!
To get more people coming just simple. We have a lot of local F1 fans. 1% of 28millions Malaysian easily translate into 280k of people. Just sell the tickets at RM20 instead of RM100 sure local supports mean more rakyat will come. Don’t just depend on foreign spectators. Even with RM20 ticket we can easily tap ‘freign’ visitors from Nepal, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and not forgetting China Dolls.
This is a smart move, win win strategy. I do not know whether Malaysian GP is making money because every year I manage to get grand stand ticket for free !
I wont be surprised that beyond 2015 mysia will be dropped from the F1 calender. That greedy Bernie will keep looking for new venues for F1 and Sgpore is stealing out spotlight. Even ESPNStar dont give Mysia a dam.
This is in fact a good idea seeing Sepang is actually one of the better Tilke’s circuits, offers both speed n much overtaking opportunities, not to mention unpredictable climate.
Fat chance. Rumors among F1 fans claim that Singapore race is not that entertaining compared to Sepang. It is also a known fact that Sepang is one of the favorite racing circuit among the drivers.
Exactly. The only reason’s Singapore’s having the liimelight is because it’s the first F1 race at night. As for racing action, it’s not that good. With the exception of the Singapore-gate scandal of 2008, not much racing action happens in a street circuit like Singapore.
But with Bernie still at the helm, hard to say. Many European F1 fans are calling on him to piss off because he effectively ruined F1 by chasing money. A lot of exciting F1 tracks in Europe no longer have an F1 GP because he’s moving it to China, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, and now Korea & India. Basically countries who had seen what F1 have done to Malaysia & wanting to have some of that (if not, why did Lee Kuan Yew said he regretted not bringing F1 in Singapore before Malaysia?).
This is true. What Sepang needs to do is build up on what is that makes the circuit great. They too need to really understand our climate. Starting the race in the early afternoon means high heat which would be great when u’re hosting the hottest race on the planet. But the spectators sit fixed under a blazing sun will not go down to well. Canopies and shades would be great there coz it may look good in tv for the mediteranean and european venues but with an equatorial climate as ours is never a good idea.
Siting in S’pore F1 is like watching the thrills on a big screen anyway with the occasional contenders 2 seconds pass by. But they’re selling it about the moment… the experience of just being there… then after the race they go drink themselves half blind.
Sepang just have to find the right answers by looking at it at a different angle. Good luck tho..
How is this going to benefit F1, Bernie and Singapore? Fat chance unless Malaysia prepares to cough up more tax payers’ money.
I like to thumbs down posts like these…
It doesn’t matter if Sepang is a great racing circuit for the racers. These F1 races will go to where the monies are – China, India, Korea, Singapore.
Money talks. Nobody is going to say let go to China and open up a racing circuit to lose money, it is all about the money. At the end of the day, those circuits that can cough up the most money wins.
China, India, Korea, Singapore and others are countries with surplus whereas most eurpoeans and america are debtor nations, they own lots of money.
No footballer wants to play in an empty stadium, no matter how great is the stadium. Likewise no racers wanna race in a half empty circuit. It is the eyeballs and money that counts.
If it is so, which GP should be held first and why ?
if spectators are lacking still in either events, we will have a bigger problem, finger pointing and war of words…
singy’s gp got singapore sling ,and beyonce…
F1 fans, yes… no problem about that…they’ll pretty much pre-book their tickets without questions, but are they that many in Malaysia?? noo…
In Singapore…im sure its even lesser, however, the singlets are aware of this fact, that is why they invite alot of international artists to fill up the days activities prior to Race Day, and after that an after party…
furthermore…. singy GP is near to town, and accessible by alot o means o transport, walking even …
Its not always easy convincing non-F1 fan to mark their calendar for race day, but you still need their support for any GPs to survive now and in the future
I feel the organizers of Malaysian GP needs to do alot more to convince Non-Malaysian/Malaysian Non-F1 Fans to look forward to this event, since they’ll spending time and money, driving all the way to middle of the desert, ,Boil under the Hot sun , seeing only flash of colours accompanied by loud buzzing noises , the organizers needs to do more and cater to needs and wants of spectators, fans and non-fans alike…
If you sop charging a plate of spaghetti and a bottle of water at exorbitant rates, you could bring back the crowd. It is so blatantly and ridiculously daylight robbery. Do not take advantage of us,
this move i believe to save cost of LOTUS RACING team… PROTON wanna cut cost!
F1 is a boring game.
Most of the Malaysian visitors are come from the youngers and the couple.
They went there for romance and show off.
It is more better to watch the game LIVE in TV.
Maybe oneday, the F1 will become a funfair party with RM5 ticket and full with with ghost house, flying carpet and others.
There are a lot of F1 circuits now, so it must be hard for a circuit to gain a high visit visitor.
Actual some of F1 circuit do have some kind of amusement park. for example Hungaroring and Nurburgring.
I’ll go for Sing GP rather than our own turf. They manage to attract international singer overthere…
If that’s your criteria for choosing an F1 race to watch, just save your money and and go to a concert. You’re not an F1 fan, just a poser who probably supports whichever team that’s winning.
Kah Kah Kah…
Do u really went there bro?
To watch a racing or singing?
He’s probably drunk when he wrote this.
costing logistics cost for raceteams might keep us in the loop…perhaps
I don’t think it’s possible for both GP’s to be held back-to-back, as it would either mean FIA pushes back Malaysian GP to September, or moves Singapore GP to March. Problem is, how many countries would like to see their GP’s be moved forward or backward in calendar?? And how much possibilities are there for Singapore to agree on this, since this is not their problems at all??
Instead of suggesting both GP’s to be held back-to-back, why not the Sepang International Circuit really looks into how do Singaporeans organize their GP, and start to think about more ways to attract people to come? Why Singapore GP can have a week-long music carnival, and we can’t? I think it’s time for some serious collaborations between government departments to work on this issue too.
The Malaysian GP did got pushed around. The first race in 1999 was the 2nd last race of the season. Then in 2000 it was the last race of the season. Only in 2001 it was pushed to the early slot it occupies now.
Plus what’s wrong with putting the races back to back. It’ll certainly cost less for Formula One Management, logistics-wise, since they can just easily truck the teams across the Causeway instead of air freighting cargo twice into the region. Just like when the Canadian Grand Prix was run back to back with the US GP.
As for moving the Malaysian GP to September, why not? By that time the championship is at its climax and the tension and drama will be much more entertaining. Remember the 1999 Malaysian GP? How it was the race which saw the return of Michael Schumacher, the race which saw him giving way to Eddie Irvine and the drama when the scrutineers found that the barge boards on the Ferrari was illegal, but later was declared legal?
Bro, September is risky la. Every few years, we get Ramadan/Syawal falling in Sept.
not really. every year Ramadan starts about 10 days earlier than previous in relative to Gregorian calendar. perhaps not for next two years (raya also maa~) but later is possible. plus the rainy season too. :p
But next year surely no problem! Raya August 30. In fact, I think it’ll take a while for Ramadan to fall back in September.
Rising toll rates and petrol prices don’t exactly encourage many fans to attend. Not to mention the exorbitant f&b prices. RM20+ for a few sticks of tasteless satay? Come on…
The above and the horrendous parking and traffic management has made me stop going for a few years now.
Also, about the concerts and whatnot after the race, if I’m sitting at the hillstands, how easy is it for me to get to the stage?
Malaysian F1 GP needs to be revitalised. It needs to be overhauled. Not only Msian F1, but also Msian motorsports scene as a whole.
So far not much talent available since most of the inspirant organisers were shot down by poor crowd presence, no sponsors for local event, no media coverage, boring motorsports event approach etc.
Organisers need to think out of the box. F1 is not only about F1 race, it is about lifestyle. The lifestyle part is poorly organised.
I have to say it’s also the local mindset. Take a look at the recent badminton world championships in Paris. How many French badminton players are there? Yet, take a look at the crowd in the arena. It wasn’t crowded by Indonesians, Chinese, Koreans and Malaysians. The French actually went to appreciate the game or even learn about it.
Imagine if there was a lacrosse world championship in KL. How do you think the crowd will be? It’s the mindset.
at rm100 for the cheapest ticket, i would have a not bothered mindset too. if you want huge crowds, you must have conducive ticket prices and the transport has to be better for sure.
Even a free admittance would not get you much crowd as you would’ve hope. Watched a hockey match once, bloody cheap ticket yet just a few bunch of local spectators. You are right, squawk. It’s the mindset indeed.
sorry folk,,, my comment might not relevent to some people…
i look forward how could opposition handle F1,..
The opposition will just know how to use massive money to build public toilets! Lol
with the massive crowds expected with lower ticket prices, that aint a bad idea. but to be fair, the current toilets at this year’s GP the hillstand were well kept. so credit where it is due.
if they really thinking of back to back…one of the best slot is around the period European having their summer holiday like June- July since at similar time…a lot of Japanese/ Korean is traveling too.
Held it at March or September….meaning the current slot for either race don’t seem to do much help in attracting visitor. I think what Sepang’s management have to do is getting support from our neighbor and maybe even both gov. You cannot go in alone facing Bernie….he don’t look like a man who like to bow down unless you have a proposal that generate lots of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$
i think malaysia shud drop F1 coz the sport getting bored n start hosting WRC… But the race must be held at Famous place n beautiful scene in malaysia not in felda kelapa sawit plantation…so that the race can promote the malaysia tourist destination… in long term can help tourism industries in our country. now WRC r only been held in japan… as all u know going to japan will cost a fortune
Agree… support WRC!
yup. we have sandy beach, hilly road like initial D, open field, etc. but why only kelapa sawit???!!!!! sooo boring….
WRC? Take a look on TV, do you see any program on WRC? Plus WRC sucks right now. It’s the Sebastian Loeb show. It’s worse than when Schumacher was dominating F1!
actually we shud use the sport to promote our country, not use our country to promote the sports…. WRC are not on TV thats y ppl will go see the race in action.. WRC ppl can go to the Pits n service area to see the car.. if F1 only Millionaire/ lucky person allow to approches the PIT…
yes! wrc great! but would people actually go stand in a palm oil estate to see cars whizz by? maybe they just go to the stadium super special stages only.
thats y i say WRC to be held in special location/ tourism destination NOT IN FELDA so it can promote the place internationally.
We already organize APRC. For me, it is much more interesting to watch that WRC. The domination of sebastien Loeb and with only two manufacturer, WRC is going to doom soon.
Saving travelers budget and getting more foreign visitors maybe, luring for more locals, don’t think so.
So many red tape and restriction, Racing and entertainment is always joint hands in hands. So many restriction fearing for opposition parties complaints on entertainment,
Everything should be in a package, not just about F1, if one really likes F1, they would watch in front of TV.
Visitors need entertainment, over here is so blend compare to the excitement you getting at Singapore F1. Unless, Malaysian GP could make it like a week long carnival on site.
Parking at SIC is RM50? Might as well park your car at airport, way cheaper. Public transport operators does not like to work together, it could have been better coordination to get visitor to the circuit better then currently form. Too many people making profit on the transportation, people would end up staying at home or better still dont watch at all.
The RM 50 parking cost is for 3 days, so it’s not that expensive. From what I’ve seen after going to the races is that many Malaysians who had bought the tickets only went for the race. They don’t go to the qualifying sessions, practice session. And that’s when all the activities with the drivers are done in the Mall area.
Don’t just come on Sunday. Come on Saturday, and if you can on Friday too!
I don’t think Race Teams would complain too much if both races were back to back. Afterall, they’d save a lot in logistics.
But then again, Sepang doesn’t need this to generate traffic for the track.
Plenty of other events can be held to promote racing.
Perhaps as many put, the first step is to allow local fans (racing fans, not just F1) better access in terms of lower cost of tickets and more pre and post event activities.
In order to survive, Sepang needs more events, not just F1. I thought they were trying to get the Australian V8 Supercars here?
For me, I just prefer to drive ON the track on open track days and watch F1 on TV. Better coverage. I love to watch live races and have been to many tracks internationally, but Sepang is just waaay to hot.
Missed out one comment.
“He has attributed the inconsistent number to the rising number of International races in the Asian region. In 1999, apart from Japan, Malaysia was the only other Asian circuit on the F1 calendar”
Isn’t it typical of us (or powers at hand) to always blame external factors instead of trying to improve?
Seriously after 10 years….what has Sepang F1 done differently since the first race?
You are not really going to keep attracting repeat expatriot or F1 Tourists now are you?
the back to back GP racing in MAlaysia and the singapore will benefit mostly foreigners. Locals F1 fan can hardly afford their F1 tickets.
before Bernie accepted Spore to held GP, SIC already lost its position as there a too much complaint about transportation, cleanliness, security & etc…
only hope that our 53yrs old gov realise how come we lost, why we lost and try to improve and we might able to “piggy back” Spore GP….
money are keep on flowing into thier banks since Night GP was held, and even now got 2 Casino lagi…… eventhough 1 belong to Genting but still, pay taxes and employed thier workforce…
Razlan knows nothing about F1. Look at the circuit now. Poorly maintained. Tracks looks dull when compare to the new circuit. One day he decide to do night racing. the next day back to back racing. maybe tmrw he plans to do it @ Genting. Dumb a@##$. Go and work with your father enough la
SIC should pull their finger out and work harder, work smarter. Market the uniquness of our event better as well as the fact that its much cheaper to watch the race in Malaysia than Singapore.
If the events are back to back, then most punters will not have the dough to go to both and unfortunately Malaysia will probably be the one to lose out.
Falling attendance for Malaysia has nothing to do with Sinagpore GP being in September!!! Malysia has a good slot in the F1 calendar being one of the first few races as public interest still high at beginning of the season. SIC, dont blame a rival venue for ur issues…..get out there and market better!!! Common sense alone will tell you that corporates can get much better value doing promos in Malaysia versus Singapore as things are much cheaper in KL.
Enough with lame excuses that circuit is old, Sing GP competition….do ur jobs well!
It’s not only the marketing. They have to look at the convenience for the audience and not just the VIPs. Some of the European tracks have camping grounds as alternatives to hotels. Even with the hotels there are choices.
I went to a trade show in HK last year and like our GP, it was held near the airport which is like ours – in the middle of nowhere. Yet it was so super convenient because the organizers provided free buses to various parts of HK & Kowloon where the trade visitors would be staying. You can also get a free ride on their airport ERL if you don’t take the free bus. They also anticipated the types of problems you get with crowds and were prepared. All this was for the convenience of the visitors (without even considering the travel credit you get to offset your air ticket and lodging). If the visitors are happy, the exhibitors are more likely to get business and that means continued support for the exhibition. Same logic applies to Sepang.
SIC doesn’t have to go to that length with so much freebies but they should make sure it is convenient for those who want to or are considering to attend the GP. And if they really want to liven up Sepang, they should stop having the F1 gala dinner in KL and do it in or near Sepang instead.
Sad to say that Singapore seems to do better in everything compared to us. Now must depend on them for our GP survival.
Scrap the F1 race…its a $$ losing event…better use those petronas fund for the ppl (education & medical), there are lots of msian still living in poverty!
I suggest having the Malaysia F1 round done in the heart of KL.
Solve the problem of travelling to Sepang and get slashed by high vendor prices.
No more parking problem coz people can go there via lrt, taxi, bus etc etc.
Foreigners already staying at the KL hotels could just walk to the circuit.
And can be done day time or night time.
And KL streets has enough corners to produce some stunning racing moments.
Other city landmarks are nearby for the photographers to capture photos that could really promote the country.
The only downside is a part of KL streets will be closed, which then again can be turn into one big street fiesta.
back to back mean 2 week off for those travel from europe. ingat senang kaa dapat cuti banyak2. likely people will choose to watch one race only. not so good proposal
Europeans like to take long vacations, 1 – 2 months. I’ve met some who’ve saved up a few years’ leave to go traveling for 1/2 a year. Some even a whole year.
It’s only an Asian or Malaysian culture to take very very short holidays. Even the Canadians take at least a 2 week break at a go.
ang gu gu… still a baby asking for food
Sepang is too faraway in the middle of nowhere…in Singapore, the race is easily accessible by MRT