Reports have emerged from across the Causeway that Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim is into a RM3 billion (S$1.2 billion) race track project in Johor’s Iskandar region. The car enthusiast tycoon will partner the Johor royal family and Malaysian state investment firm Khazanah Nasional in the circuit project.
Singapore daily The Straits Times says that the 100-hectare site is just 10 to 15 minutes from the Second Link. Said to be situated to the left of a rest stop after the Malaysian checkpoint, the proposed 4 to 4.5km race track will be able to host GT, go-kart and motorcycle races.
To be certified by FIA, the track will be able to host all kinds of racing outside of single-seat class races. Sources say that “Motorsports City” will be ready in 2015 or 2016.
Well-known duo Hermann Tilke and Clive Bowen have been named as possible designers of the track, which will feature a 1.2 to 1.5 km stretch where cars can top out at 300 km/h, among other things.
The proposed project will also boast resort homes, a car museum, an advanced driving school, workshops, a warehouse and a go-kart factory. A bonded area will provide the rich a place to store their tax-free cars, including left-hand drive models. Sources from Khazanah say that the project is still in the discussion stage.
We reckon that this proposed race track won’t lack business due to its close proximity to Singapore. There are plenty of supercars residing in the island state unable to stretch their legs, and many of them are brought all the way to Sepang for the occssional exercise. A track at their doorstep with good and well-maintained facilities should be a popular playground for the rich. It would be a good location for car launches, too.
The name sounds familiar? Peter Lim, 59, is the eighth richest man in Singapore according to Forbes, has a stake in McLaren and sits on the board of the British supercar maker and F1 contender.
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Herman Tilke? Nooooooo!!!!!
Get rid of the man when designing new circuits. His inventions are mere copy-and-paste from other race tracks.
Wooooorrrdd! Tilke Trash Tracks can go to hell. Build a track that’s exciting like Batu3. F1 is already full of these crap dude’s tracks. Let’s not add another.
Why we need Singaporeans? Simple. Singaporeans got more brains than Malaysians.
u mean those main land people?
ya ya brain damage
if we take sam loo as the representative of Malaysian.. and yes. I agree that it is true…
no F1 races?
Don’t just built any 4.5 km track .
Built it like the nordschlelife , with some elevation and incorperate farmous corners from around the world like the Laguna Seca’s corkscrew or Spa-Francorchamps Raidillon. Oh and built a hotel around a sharp 180deg hairpin like Monaco’s hairpin.
And most importantly , let normal boy racer or anybody with a license pay a respectable amount to lapped it: like the green hell itself. This will keep all racer-wannabe satisfied and off the street. furthermore ,grooming local sing or Mal talents.
Whatever is it, if successful , it will be a heaven for car enthusiast like me.
brilliant idea. i like the way you think. =)
partner with Johor Royal family = sure can easily gao dim many things.
Just remember not to win any race against the johor royal family or else you will get beaten to DEATH.
Be careful with your words. Somebody will track you down.
you sound like malaysia is communist country.
say goodbye to Pasir Gudang circuit. It will confront the same fate as BTSC. There goes another ‘playground’ for small budget racers like us.
It is for the rich and famous only.
yes please…but no tilke pls….his track is like….zzzzzzzz to watch race on tv…
expect to the ‘WWW 1’ doing circles there…
What will happen to Pasir Gudang race track?I think not necessary to have another race track at this moment unless something different like Nurburgring or Isle of Man racing circuit type…
This is a waste of money to fulfill someone’s ego and nothing but a “white elephant”. If this is a private project by Mr Lim I welcome it, but if it involved Khazanah, a big NO!
abis la…
huhuhu
satu satu kena makan
OK lor, those who have budgets for weekend circuit lap certainly welcome this project…maybe those Viva with neon green wheels and rm60 exhaust will blast all Lambos & Ferraris at this newly superior designed circuit
Khazanah…WHY!!! build a toll highway in Sarawak and Sabah and you will get a sure return for your investment. At least that will benefit the rakyat. not just the rich. The G depends on their vote, so give them what they deserve while they still like you.
Agreed and since Sarawak is a large area, while you are at it, make it and autobahn style road with special “no-limit” stretch, just to spice things up.
sam loo to peter lim
No no why open racetrack? No RV one!
open toyota showroom better!
But Peter Lim is the billionaire. I’m sure he’s a million times smarter than Sam Loo financially!!
Sam is only “Dreaming” of becoming millionaire.
Lol.. why Peter Lim want to open Toyota showroom when he can open Mclaren showroom. Oh yea, Uncle Sam might say Mclaren low resale value, buy 1 at 90% discount 6 months later (like he always say).
How I wish Mclarens are at 90% discount 6 months later, I would love to own 1 of those MP4C. :D
this the reason why i hate so much about government…
this the reason why i hate government.
Lol.
Mukhriz will be lobbying hard to stop that.
Find and dandy…as long as its not Tilke that is designing it.
It makes sense to build Motorsport City in JB – first of all, it’s proximity to Singapore makes it viable investment. A lot of rich Singaporeans have fast car which is rendered useless in the small republic as they can’t speed much without being caught on camera. Secondly, Peter Lim himself has collection of exotic cars which he can use personally in the race track.
From business point of view, he can target both Malaysian and Singaporean.. Hold race events while attracting sponsors from both countries.
How many of you know that he’s connected to Robert Kwok via Wilmar ie. The largest palm oil trading company in the world based in Singapore?
so, what the REALLY rakyat gets? other than cronies getting a cut from this project…
” to store their tax-free cars”
means we’ll be able to buy M3 at cheaper price but can only be used in this track? sound wonderful..
You can already do that. Buy a car and declare it as a track car.
Smart move,
Tis guy really have too much of money in his hand…
Come on…Singaporean wanna invest (waste) money in our Bolehland, we should be happy what!
bad move, khazanah!
you will be left with the wooden spoon after all of them flip.
why this?
Gone are the days when we treat Singapore as archrival. Now we work together to achieve a common goal.
And yet again we see foreigners buying and owning land and properties in JB (and Malaysia as a whole).
Really,what does it take to be as super super rich as these guys?
i bet the stupid cronies will surely be interested. esp Dr. M son. lol.. eh, BN let u build in Malaysia without asking u to build any Mosque or any leisure facility for the royal families? lucky dude.. lol.
speaking the truth oso kena thumb down. stupid malaysian who cant accept reality. no wonder always going backward.
Track project idea is fantastic. However, hiring Tilke? What in the world is Perter Lim thinking. Characterless, dull circuits is his forte.
very good idea. build race track at Jb. so all super rich singaporean and malaysian can test their car at this circuit rather than at plus highway.
Track at Shah Alam or surrounding areas please. Batu Tiga replacement needed urgently…Sepang is too far away from civilisation and mostly for the well heeled
In my opinion, it is a good move since it will bring more money into our country and will open up many other jobs related to motoring industry. Would also love to see many local people able to repair or service high performance cars ;)
If the rich people are willing to spend their money in the new circuit, why not we give them a good service and we can earn something so that we can bring food to our family .. :)
We also have Pasir Gudang circuit. How many race track you want to build? Invest in other way. Sure, the track will benefits only for they people. lah.