EXCLUSIVE: Sepang track renovations – first look

Here is an exclusive look at the changes being made to the Sepang International circuit – notably turns two, five and 15. Having been closed for track renovations since February 15, interest from the motorsports crowd to find out what is new for Sepang in 2016 has been high.

Our own Adian Yein, paultan.org’s resident race car driver, was on hand to document the new look in those specific turns. What is apparent from these three pictures is that the corner radius appears to be the same from ground level, but there has been changes in camber.

Turn Two now shows a rather smoother transition from the top of the entry to the apex, with the ‘drop’ now missing from the turn. This would mean that screwing up the set-up and entry into Turn One will no longer have the serious repercussions it used to have, when misjudging the apex for Turn Two would have racers, notably racebike riders, having to take the drop, and hope their suspension settings were spot-on for the day.

Perhaps in an effort to encourage more overtaking in Turn Five, the wide, sweeping left turn has had the incline smoothed out somewhat. This means a more even transition coming in from Turn Four, and a quick driver can take advantage of the shallower drop.

Jpeg

Jpeg

A big change has taken place at the final Turn 15, the hairpin right in front of the grandstands. The camber on the turn has been raised by a large amount, making 15 now a very off-camber left turn. This is going to call for some very committed driving and riding from the racers. A mistake with the apex here is going to cause the racer to run very wide onto the final straight.

The entire 5.543 km SIC circuit is being resurfaced, with repairs led by Jarno Zafelli, circuit designer head of Italian design firm, Dromo. It is said that the upgrading works will improve drivability and overtaking at most of the circuit’s corners.

So, there you have it, some of the changes made at the Sepang International circuit, which is on schedule to re-open on May 8, with the first major race – the FIM World Superbike Championship – taking place on May 13 to 15. Formula 1 returns to Sepang on September 30 to October 2, and Moto GP will be held on October 28 to 30.

Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.

10% discount when you renew your car insurance

Compare prices between different insurer providers and use the promo code 'PAULTAN10' when you make your payment to save the most on your car insurance renewal compared to other competing services.

Car Insurance

Mohan K Ramanujam

Coming with diverse and extensive experience in heavy engineering, Mohan enjoys making anything with wheels go fast, especially motorcycles. His weapon of choice is the Desmoquattro engine, and he has a penchant for anything with a dash of Italian design. Strangely enough, he insists he's a slow rider.

 

Comments

  • WT Fuchhh on Apr 25, 2016 at 7:56 pm

    Ooooii !!! Close shop lah. Mat Rempit is gonna be the next biggest show in KL street.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 26
    • Muniandy Periasamy on Apr 26, 2016 at 9:01 am

      Dont worry, just like our potholes on the road, within a month, the race track will have potholes and things will be crumbling?

      Why? Very simple. The crony company given the contract will use cheap and low quality tar and parts. Give them 1 billion to do repairs, they sapu RM800 million and use only 200 million with low quality tar and parts.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 11
  • Really on Apr 25, 2016 at 9:23 pm

    I wonder if mat rempits are allowed to race at the Sepang Circuit, how many minutes will they need to complete one lap? Considering they get into their most aerodynamic mode (the Superman) at the straights, I reckon they can get around 6 minutes.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 17 Thumb down 0
    • Never. Cuz at the end of the main straight is a hairpin curve. All supermen will fly to wall at 1st corner

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 18 Thumb down 0
    • alldisc on Apr 26, 2016 at 1:30 pm

      Actually and unfortunately, mat rempit bikes are tuned only for high speed go. This is why they don’t dare to join neither track day event or actual racing. Their bikes have very low pulling power at low rpm which is very important when you want to exit a corner.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • nabill (Member) on Apr 25, 2016 at 10:40 pm

    That drop in 2nd corner was such a difficult one to master… It upsets the car balance n weight transfer… Very hard to get it right… I think they should have done sting to da parking area, on a full race weekends we had to park at da highway roadside….

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 0
  • AhPauL on Apr 26, 2016 at 1:05 am

    I wondering how much is the charges for regular open track day… Need to drive in a proper track once in a lifetime. =)

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • tokmoh. on Apr 26, 2016 at 9:53 am

      There’s an event this weekend, 30th April and 1st May, RM50 for 1.5 hours joyride with your own car! That’s a steal!!! M7 Drive is organising this event.

      Come come, let’s go this weekend!

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 0
  • Be very careful of open track days, the organizers often are greedy who will refuse to hold the race if very bad conditions occur such as rain for example, causing many newbies to crash. Also most malaysian drivers have very poor skill, resulting in dangerous driving patterns, often leading to body contact.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 7
    • Narmia on Apr 26, 2016 at 9:51 am

      Refusing to continue the race because of poor weather conditions? That’s not greedy – it’s being responsible.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
    • 4G63T DSM on Apr 26, 2016 at 12:03 pm

      That, unfortunately will not fly.

      You can’t deny the better drivers a session when you have newbies on the road.

      The problem is that we often have huge speed differentials between cars on any open track day. Its up to the more experienced driver on faster hardware to be on a lookout for less experienced drivers.

      Sepang is a high speed track. Its hard for inexperienced drivers to properly gauge proper entry speeds due to the extra wide track. They usually go in too quick or and take the inappropriate apex. Those that turn in too soon too fast will overshoot (ie. turn 1 and muck up turn 2 completely and be very slow going uphill to 3 and 4). If you are an a faster car, you need to be on a lookout for them. Bear in mind, none of these novices has proper training about racing lines and yielding to faster traffic.

      Turn 15 would be interesting. What it makes for is emphasis on braking accuracy and a late apex. Probably very interesting overtaking shows.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • rollo on Apr 26, 2016 at 9:24 am

    Agree with Nabill, 2nd corner difficult and they made it… easier? If 15 is really off camber as reported, then they must be mad. Bikes use the back straight and late brake to overtake at 15 and should have safe leeway to overshoot (thats’s part of the racing). Off camber means everybody will be forced to use the same line. Where can overtake like that? Jeez…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
  • I’ll save final judgement until after having driven the track again, however getting rid of and/or smoothing out elevation changes doesn’t sound like a great idea if you’re looking to provide a challenging circuit.

    One of the most common complaints about many tracks is “it’s flat, no elevation changes” and yet they’re doing their best to take that away here? I hope it’s barely noticeable and the T2 and T5 character remains.
    The thought that off-camber encourages overtaking is lost on me – especially in high speed stuff such as F1. Banked corners move the balance more towards mechanical grip, so that the car behind isn’t as reliant on downforce – off-camber does the opposite.

    T2 was challenging because of the drop – easy for a driver to make a mistake on mid-corner or exit allowing the car behind to attack into T4. Overtaking into T2 has never been a risk-free or very common occurrence, but it set-up moves into T4 beautifully.

    Sepang is/was an awesome track and no changes would have been a good solution, but lets hope that these do improve the track.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
 

Add a comment

required

required