This weekend sees the final Formula 1 Malaysian Grand Prix being held in Sepang, but its organiser isn’t feeling warm and fuzzy about the farewell, it seems. If anything, the sentiment is very much the opposite, as Reuters reports.
According to Sepang International Circuit CEO Datuk Razlan Razali, the country wouldn’t want to host Formula 1 after this, even if it was offered for free. Fans, he said, weren’t turning up because the show wasn’t exciting enough to draw them in, and as such there was very little to compel the country to host an F1 race.
“Even if we got the greatest of deals, do it for free for example, what’s the product? I myself am not able to sit in front of the television and watch from lap one until whatever lap (for) two hours. It’s hard to sell this kind of event and to get bums on the seat, and it’s not worth the investment at the moment,” he told the news agency on the sidelines of the free practice session at the track yesterday.
Razlan said that attendances had been on the decline since 2014, when the quieter 1.6 litre turbo-hybrid engines were introduced. Last year, only 46,944 people turned up to watch the race. While a slight improvement over that of 2015, the attendance figure was far from the 88,450 spectators recorded in 2013.
At the time of the report, grandstand tickets for the race were still on sale despite an 82% discount. Razlan said he expected about 80,000 spectators for the finale. Meanwhile, tickets for next month’s MotoGP race, which Sepang will continue to host, have already been sold out. Last year, a record crowd of 160,000 people turned up for the 2016 edition of the bike race.
Declining ticket sales, viewership and tourist numbers were among the reasons why Malaysia pulled the plug on the race it has hosted since 1999. Razlan added that what F1’s new owners Liberty Media had done wasn’t enough. “They did not work hard enough for us to change our minds,” he said.
“I turn it back to the media. What changes have you seen that makes it any more exciting than in the Bernie days, in terms of the sport, in terms of racing, what have they done? Fan engagement, yes. What they have done off-track, it’s great, but what triggers for someone to buy tickets to come to the circuit? It’s the product, the sport, not because of the activation they have done,” he explained.
Razlan said that Malaysia would be happy to come back if Formula 1 delivered a show that would bring in the fans and dish out something that will keep them on the edge of their seats. “The easiest part is to come back and negotiate with Liberty Media for F1 to come back. The hard part is (determining) whether the sport has changed for the better,” he said.
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How come nascar still popular in the usa?
Mana rakyat terjejas? Kan Maslan cakap betul, GST kurangkan kos hidup, makin ramai beli tiket tengok F1. Terbukti ekonomi semakin kukuh
Its all government fault, bcoz to tax/duty 300% make turbo car & sports car not affordable to own. This non-affordable result cause public not interest motor sports …
If tax-duty 300%+ applied jack up the price of badminton racket starting price from RM1000/pc, and Shuttlecocks from RM30/pc. Do u think we still could gain public interest in playing badminton games daily…??? Under mesia govt Badminton games will eventually transform become luxury games for millionaires. This is same same principal why Automotive transformation FAILED in mesia.
Anything that is non local is considered luxury. The best example is our national car project. How many Malaysians suffered bcoz of the word PROTON. Now they ask why they are last in sales satisfaction. How irony
Bukan masalah ekonomi tapi management. Tengok P1 pun tau
All over the world, all countries lining up to host F1
Even first world Singapore consider it as an honour.
Malaysia is the ONLY country in the world turn down hosting F1
This is why Singapore Dollar is 3.3 to Ringgit and Singapore is first world
yeah..and singapore will stop in few years after contract end.
Actually, F1 was very good. Tourism made BILLIONS. All 5 star hotels packed and full. All 5 star eateries also full. MAS flights were full to the BRIM. Malaysia also MADE INTERNATIONAL Headlines.
The main problem why F1 failed for SIC is very simple. SIC had to give thousands of FREE tickets ie complimentary free tickets to all the VIPs, Datuk Datuk, Tan Sri Tan Sri, Menteri Menteri and anak anak Menteri.
This is the usual practice in Malaysia. So, these are GRAND STAND tickets worth thousands each. But wajib to give all the abang abang Ministers.
Like that….of course lah SIC cannot make money.
See Datuk Razlan Razali….you don’t need to have a CEO mind to figure your main problem. Please resign.
The day Datuk can say NO to all the VIPS and their demands for Complimentary tickets, SIC will make money.
But last time u bash gov and SIC for holding F1. So in ur pov, either holding F1 or not, u still bash gov. Why wud anyone actually bothers to read ur wall of shiet, then?
i have never commented on F1 before. Are you high on weed?
Some VIPS demands tickets, Some VIPS demands handbags, Some VIPS demands diamonds, Some VIPS demands,
SACK this CEO.He is hired to do the job.Not to run down Formula 1 race.(alto no more exciting).
So,this white elephant will be a moto GP venue.
MAT REMPITS…….HERE IS YOUR CHANCE,TO SHOW YOUR REMPITING skills.Let them pay RM1 to race here instead of racing in our streets and killing people.
Nascar can drive aggressive to create accident and fight..
F1 want to be aggressive? 10second pit lane penalty. Causing an accident? Start from the last..
“even it was offered for free”. What a foolish statement made by the CEO. Fans actually want the track to stay on the calender for its novelty.
It’s a shame that a good track like Sepang won’t be around anymore.
I have a feeling that the decision made by SIC was driven by something other than “sounds” and “low attendance”. Contrary of his statement, the sound of the engines have actually improved other than the design of the cars themselves (wider body, lower spoilers) and Liberty Media is doing a bunch to revive the sport throughout this year.
Wrong timing SIC. A highly peculiar decision indeed.
This is abang economics 101. This is why we need a CEO from China who can bring in real money. Billions.
Now you know why all the GLCs always lose money and live on contracts only from the Government.
This is the same thinking Proton CEOs have had the past few years.
So blatant. Don’t worry, few more years, he will be awarded TanSri ship for his super wisdom
Prove me GLCs always lose and live on contracts only from gomen?
So bodoh. Even race track drain cover also don’t know how to maintain. Basic upkeep also don’t know how to do. Want to do business pulak?
Better put China CEO as SIC head.
SG started F1 late 10years. So success & make money.
Bull… Mana ada make money. They also plan to withdraw from F1.
So butthurt…Singapore will continue hosting Formula 1 until 2021.
Click – https://paultan.org/2017/09/18/singapore-to-continue-hosting-formula-1-until-2021/
Really? Then what was this:
https://paultan.org/2016/11/21/singapore-may-not-extend-formula-1-race-after-2017/
2017 》 2016
so bodoh, latest news in 2017 prevails over 2016 news.
Pls john, use your brain a bit
Open your eyes John. Blind cannot see? 2017 news vs 2016 news
Then pls reveal why they were thinking to stop in 1st place. Go ahead, im waiting.
Talk like a loser. He shld learn frm singapore on how make it interesting
Well attendance still low.. Less ticket mean less profit. Less profit mean govt must take out more money to support the event. I do really see this year race is quite exciting but what bout other pipu think?
The problem with SIC can be seen by the HAAS F1 team claim of USD295,000 (RM1.5 million)
Their No 8 car masuk longkang cause it had faulty drain cover on the SIC track
This shows how SIC and even Malaysia operates. You give the contract for maintenance to relatives, abang, atuk, kakak angkat, abang mertua etc and they do a crap job and this happens.
This is not an isolated incident. This has happened many times. Only thing is, the HAAS F1 lawyer claim made its way to social media.
So shameful. Even F1 also now scared to race on our tracks.
So, if everyday you are getting sued, how to make money like that?
Fake dupe referring to fake figures in fake invoice. What else is new?
https://paultan.org/2017/10/02/haas-f1-teams-invoice-to-sic-is-fake/
Would you keep pay $70m aka RM300m every single year but the ROI is lessor than that?
And deswai those same pipu keep complain is unfair, despite all the opportunities given and blame the F1 bums for all their suffering. Expect to be served on silver platter.
Look at Proton’s management u will understand, the rest no need to say
Proton’s management? Previous or current 1
Simple, just bring Lady Gaga and all those top superstar artists ( Ariana Grande is a must) and people will come.
Nanti PAS protes sebab nak protek orang sini dari pelbagai dosa. Diorang mana tahu youtube dan internet tu apa.
PAS PIS PUS or whatever u want to call it, can go back to cave should their decide to. But at the end of the day this country is belong to us & it’s our duty to decide on what we want & what not.
Your comments are worse with cave facts
What’s wrong, it seems to me that u cannot take the heat right !!!And by the way, your name just reflect who u are. Shame on u !!!!
Sour grapes! Typical comments from losers.
In more civilized societies, failed leaders just shut F up & step down. Not sowing more negativity & blame game like dis pathetic loser…
When gip comment like this you said loser, when p1 showed roadmap you told them to kolos shop pulak. Bashers got serious mental problem, go get treatment before it’s too late
Topkek
Will other car motorsport events held in Sepang would attract more crowd then? Active participation of the country itself plays a role. SIC dah la jauh dari KL. Promotion was sub par. Minimal grassroots Motorsport events held. Community involvement sangat sikit. Dulu ada Alex Yoong. After that ada Tony’s Lotus. Now apa ada? Instead of blaming F1 how about rectify what’s missing in our end first.
Actually boleh has several driver that already good enough for F1 eg Jazeman, Nabil Al-Jefri, Akash Neil Nancy to name a few. The problem is sponsorships not because we lack of driver but money. Malaysia do run many grassroot event eg MSS, ASEAN F3, go-cart race.
U must be joking. They are decent racer but not yet F1 material. They cant even win their current series.
Who wanna watch 12rhs Merdeka endurace races. I mean come on, we’re talking about 12hours, who wants to stay on their seat and watch cars passing them for 12 hours?
Err.. moto gp tickets sold out already
5 star hotels full, clubs full, tourists comes in by thousands, but you go give thousands of tickets for free to some ‘leaders’, surely go bust lah
Professional n experienced person will never pass comments like he said “”v not host event for even free”” bez of these guts n unnecessary show off Malaysia rating already b down .so grow up n if can’t then b professional n watch ur mouth bfr pass comment bez its intl event n world is already laughing on Malaysia
It is normal for CEO of such caliber
caliber? what caliber??
I read many negative comments from bashers as if they are millionaires ady! LOL
This is typical Malaysian arrogance. If you follow this theory and reasoning, then Proton should have been closed down long ago. Cause Proton too had bad sales for the past 10 years and Proton buyers became so small in number.
But yet, our beloved Government Proton going for 10 years despite having losses of RM4 million per day.
Other countries like Singapore, say it is a privilege to host F1. Cause they know, selling tourism and making your country Internationally known is far better than losing some money.
So, can I ask, why gomen never close Proton down 15 yrs ago when Proton began to lose money and got no “audience” like SIC and F1?
Guess who was “sitting at top” 10 years ago? And now u still want him back in charge kah?
Too boring to read about sinjapork here. Basher if there is so good go and live there la
the guy who taught you how to be lazy and always ask for gomen help?
This also u want to relate with politics bodolah u
We have vendors and their families to feed
Mr. Razlan Razali, if you cannot find ways to innovate and make Sepang profitable again, then step down and let someone else try. Don’t sit on your high horse and expect things to fix themselves.
You are speaking in some defeatist, pessimistic tone. You are not inspiring any confidence. All you’re saying is “I hate my job, and I give up.”. This is not how a CEO should carry himself.
Sepang is a great circuit with much potential. Mr. Razlan Razali, you should know better than to make excuses and find blame in others. So once again, if you cannot make things work, just step down and give someone else a chance. Perhaps, give it to a man or woman who is passionate about cars and motorsport, and not just profits and big bucks.
I will respond to u cuz ur a level headed commenter here that can accept a counter arguement, so here goes.
If u read what the CEO said, hes not giving up on SIC just SIC holding F1 right now. He still promotes other races like Malaysia Speed Festival (MSF) & larger crowd pullings like MotoGP. His main gripe is Liberty Media came in but changes still too slow to see the effects and SIC cannot go on bleeding while waiting the sun to shine.
As now, the cars okay, powertrain dreadfully unexciting, racing so-so cuz Ferrari bodywork trick that may be outlawed next year, bland PR drives by F1, expensive tickets, ever increasing cost, unclear vision, and the same ol F1 mgmt haughtiness to track organisers. The CEO probably has had enuff and 1st chance to gip up F1 without blame or career consequence, he took it with both hands.
But dun fret, theres plenty more racing left in SIC.
so says the same guy who says msia got cheapest petrol and car prices in the world
When P1 fails, we also blame others, blame P2 for competition, rakyat not sapot, G not giving enough money etc. I dun see how this would be a different scenario
When F1 is losing global spectators, TV & live, then yes its F1 fault. Nobody wants a diminishing ROI business.
For the betterment of the series, F1 rules itself needs to change. Tech nuts might said F1 is the pinnacle of racing technology so on & so forth. But the series is lacking the atmosphere which can be seen in MotoGP that draw bumper crowds all over the world (not just Sepang!).The F1 governing body should do all kinds of measures to cut the costs BUT the complexity of the hybrid thingy needs to be reduced , the take out the spec engine formula and introduce a variety of engine configuration – 4,5,6 & 8 cylinder turbo engines , In Line, Flat of Vee configuration. Allow turbo anti-lag (bang bang) system for some added aural & adrenaline excitement. F1 cars need to noisy to attract more people.
Exactly! F1 needs to change in the direction that spectators wants, not what the teams wants. Right now the rules r static yet vague so much that big team that innovates at particular component (ie shovels more into it), can win it. Almost no competition at all, which turns of viewers globally. Deswai F1 is losing it, not just Sepang, but bashers dun see this from their hole.
Sad to say, kids nowadays climax too fast. all aaction should be pack within 10 minutes, hence e-sport gaining much attention.
this guy is the ceo.. good blame the sport.. what a joke. while other countries continue to thrive… look at singapore f1
SIC needs a China Mainland CEO who can run SIC better and produce results with F1
So, it is not only Proton that needs China help, I think better sell SIC to China also
Overnight, SIC will be making BILLIONS from F1
It’s like saying Malaysians dun want Proton cars even given for free
So it it time to change to Chinese CEO if the current one can’t manage?
Not even Chinese CEO can stop their track from making losses. So what makes u think they r better?
revert to the V10 regs please..
Er, this Razlan guy do know that F1 engine regulations can’t be changed in a year or two after being introduced, right? Seeing that the 1.6 turbo era was started by Bernie Ecclestone in 2014 and Liberty only took over not even a year ago, I think Liberty is already doing a great job to rekindle interests in F1. The new engine rules will only come in the 2021 season so SIC, you have plenty of time to think until then.
you are talking in a capacity as the circuit CEO, so please do not mention “malaysian”.
1. Razlan has never been a fan of F1. He always prefer motogp.
2. He has a point about the quality of racing in f1. But probably too blind to see tht f1 is still highly rated n highly watched sport. N still more than motogp.
3. Apart frm motogp n f1, the attendance for other events are far worse. The decision to switch the f1 schudule after singapore has make it worse. Marketing has always been weak after all. With tongkat all along frm the G, they just cldnt be bothered.
4. Cant help it to think tht the actual reason to slash f1 is bcos of politics. It was mahathirs brainchild and mokhzani has been the champion of f1 here in msia. Thts why even f1 is here for free they still wldnt wanna do it. Its purely politics. Thts a shame.
Bodoh!! He is never a fan of any!! He even hates our local riders and drivers!
Once upon a time, he said he want to cancel MotoGP!!
later fans got angry, he said sorry and put it back.
Look at all the events in Sepang under him? What happen to SuperGT? He even gave the same yada yada statement just like what he said about F1 today!! What he said is exactly as he said regarding on MotoGP and SuperGT in the past!
Did you know those free and expensive tickets are also sold in the black market, making sales of the real ticket unprofitable? This was experience as I met one of those SIC workers selling those black market tickets.
he even changed the name from Sepang F1 Circuit to Sepang International Circuit because he said the name SIC is better
How about the case where he blacklisted a cup rider just because he commented the track days are expensive for motorbike? Yes, he did increase the price for trackday!
He cannot handle a circuit and even an event!! He was even blacklisted when he was in Pineapple what so ever.
He thinks bringing artist concert to F1 will make the circuit profitable. People go to F1 to see the race, not concert!!
He bragged about changing management and all the BS, but still it became worst by the day!!
I saw Super Senior Sepang F1 Circuit management doing all the job during pitlane during pitwalk instead of hiring a security team. That person who I saw doing the work at the pitwalk was someone who handles upper level like management or VIP not pitlane work!
Razlan is a Talk no ACTION person!!
Please remove Razlan for a better Sepang F1 Circuit!!
This fella is an idiot. He speaks like a bloody Malaysian politician…what the people think is not as important as what he thinks. The other day he commented on who is lance stroll…not knowing as an individual in charge of the sic he should be a bit more knowledgable about motorsports…u idiot , lance stroll was Italian F4 champion in 2014, Toyota Racing Series champion 2015 and 2016 FIA European Formula 3 champion…I suggest before you open ur big mouth Google lah…who are you Ryazan razali…even malaysians don’t know who u are!
hahaha, totally agreed with you, who the hell is this ceo, please resign and let others capable M’sian to do it.
Razlan is talking nonsense. There weren’t much promotion for the event recently unlike last time. I don’t see much F1 ads on the internet or the shopping centers, not as obvious as it used to be. so not suprising he cannot get many ‘bums on the seat’ without steep discounts.
Liberty media has brought new hope for the sport and many venues this year had more spectators than before. They have also started to open up F1 to a much bigger audience on the Internet via Youtube and the social media. A very good beginning from them.
Razlan was behaving more like a rempit gangster than a CEO of a world famous track. He was very uncouth and rude in his attitude towards the new owners of F1, who had done many good things for the sport. Hope they replace this gangster with someone better.
U r right. If there is no petronas to prop up sepang f1 race every year then it probably be even worse. Sic marketing is like shit
that is not optimistic, but true situation..
fans getting away after downsizing engines was introduce, cant feel the engine trough your heart, sooo boring..
Kid, have you been to any recent F1 races live? While the 1.6 turbo V6 can’t compare to the V10 in terms of aural experience, the experience of seeing it live is still second to none. The cars are matching the pace of the V10 era despite the engine being smaller, no refuel and no more ‘unlimited’ supply of engines to go through the whole season.
The aural experience is decent enough. Try sitting next to a passing car without an ear plug. Not high pitch like the v10 but still loud enough for excitement.
I stopped watching F1 since they introduced the number of times you can change tyres in a race.
They were utterly boring.
So what is the new development , i have no idea.
i prefer the time when you have schumacher, montoya etc….
This fella got to b really s…..d. If you get to host it for free , you would definitely make money. Let me take your place and show you how to be a professional…call yourself a ceo
M (Malaysia) declared to stop hosting F1 1 year earlier than contract after S (Singapore) announced not to renew F1 race. But after the S Race, S announced to continue hosting, maybe because Liberty offered a good deal. Do Liberty take the initiative to negotiate with M? If no, I think we really have to reflect how we hosted the event compared to our neighbour. I personally felt there is no F1 race’s atmosphere when the race is in town compared to other country that are hosting it. Especially when a Drain Cover caused accident during F1 practise, instead of stand up like a man to take responsibilities (partially if not fully) but evading bullet by blaming FIA inspected the Race Track and certified it as safe for race. This put us on a further not so good spotlight or maybe the PR department officer of SIC do not have a qualified person to handle the press.
Many things can be done on Sepang curcuit but we missed a lot of chances by being idle. If you go stadiums in Europe, they makes money even when there is no matches. Sepang can be a shopping mall, can host concerts, can have automotive sports museum, can lease out spaces for luxury and sports car company to open in circuit show rooms, can have a hotel, can have theme park or even mini golf course, so many things when we had the money to build and expand. F1 definitely add more value not just to circuit but the nation tourism as a whole too. Now all the money gone dunno where and they even want to chop the goose. Future is bleak.
What do you expect from GLC’s CEOs? These politically-appointed so-called leaders of the industry are just a bunch of jokers that are only good at licking boots of the ruling government, usually with no appropriate experience in the field of the GLC they are appointed to. They are just there to be a figurehead, to collect fat paycheck and to shut their mouths if they happens to keep some big secrets.
Kid, have you been to any recent F1 races live? While the 1.6 turbo V6 can’t compare to the V10 in terms of aural experience, the experience of seeing it live is still second to none. The cars are matching the pace of the V10 era despite the engine being smaller, no refuel and no more ‘unlimited’ supply of engines to go through the whole season.
Nebermind…..F1 in Malaysia mostly for foreigners…Hardly many malaysian enjoy it due to high ticket prices vs their disposable income. Most malaysian only watch racing at grass patches or via tv. Too expensive for most Malaysian to buy tickets.
According to some Menteri, Malaysia is high income nation. Ekonomi semakin kukuh…sembang lebat
Guys, have u all seen Motogp at Sepang? Even during the V8 era, there is no way an F1 event would beat MotoGP in terms of spectators’ experience. From my personal experience watching from the main grandstand, the gravity of the MotoGP excitement is night and day compared to F1 and this was during the F1 cars are still using the atmposheric V8. One can feel the the cylinders arrangement on each of the motogp bike, whether it is in-line 4, V4 or V5 (honda RC211V) through the sounds from its tailpipe. One can also see hundreds of overtaking by all riders throughout the entire race. The MotoGP organizer, Dorna did a tremendous job promoting the sports without much promotion needed by Sepang or other circuit around the world. Just go and visit MotoGP website u already know the difference. I subscribed to their VideoPass and the on-board videos are mind-blowing. Do F1 have this? I can see any political induce reason of why SIC is not interested in hosting the race anymore.
Mat rempit detected
What a stupid guy his Razlan. Born moron at birth. Thats why u must put right people at the right place. Even for FOC also he doesnt want
Thats confirmed retard
U see, the problem with these people, stupid people they always go for easy solution. Yala not their fathers money to built SIC so what these prat care.
He mentioned about the new owner of F1 is not much of a help. I tell you what cunt razlan, u are fcuking out of ur depth. U got appointed to that post and yet u cant do a thing to solve this. What a waste of money
What a waste of human. humanwaste.
Arrogant statement from someone .
Don’t blame others if you cannot manage the event.
F1 in Singapore is pulling in the crowds with all the other activities.
There are many aspects to managing an event. Unfortunately in Bolehland; it is not your skills that get you the job.
Frankly , not only no skills but no professionalism to step down for you failure. I guess that’s our top down leadership style.
Agree with you…. they not an F1 fans that why they know nothing…
As a Msia citizen im shame with ur statement….
To others…. His statement is not represent from all Msian….
The problem is most Malaysian cannot stand to watch from lap 1 till end and they only watch when F1 is in Malaysia only. Suddenly they acah2 know all about F1 and confident about it pulak tu, so funny made me wanna gelak kuat2 on their face and i met a lot of people like this, the sad truth. Same like SIC CEO.
I watched every single race since 2004, read and research a lot about F1 and a very passionate fan of F1. Yes, F1 is a bit boring nowadays but it will improve, it’s the pinnacle of motorsport after all. IMO, Sepang is one of the greatest circuit after Nurburgring and Spa-Francorchamps.
Gonna miss Sepang and hope it will return in the calendar. To Malaysian F1 real enthusiast, enjoy the race this weekend!
Ok Mr CEO. What ever you said. We Malaysians are not that stupid actually. We all know that this is all nonsense from Najib to bring down Tun M’s legacy 1 by 1.
Ok out of political context, let’s talk business. I have been to SIC in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2013, 2014 and current 2017 races. Let me make my say as a ‘loyal customer’. How are you going to make a successful event when you are selling tickets online with a very user-unfriendly website? It’s hard to use your website as it redirects too much. Yes I do agree there are times where F1 is being boring and predictable but currently, it IS NOT. It’s real racing and competition. You just pulled out at the wrong time.
The problem with you and SIC is the lack of promotions for the race. This year would be the finale but I only seen your advertisement like somewhere 4 months ago while Singapore had been promoting their 2017 race since the end of last year. So, how can you blame fans for not attending?
Then, it when it comes to F&B. Prices of F&B at the circuit is TOTALLY RIDICULOUS! You should have put in a MyKad kind of price even if you are looking for maximum profits. SIC and KL is about 50km and when it comes to travelling costs (for 3 consecutive days) you should prepare to ease up the burden of local fans! Even the shuttle provided was like RM35++ for two-ways daily. You talk about fans not providing value for the circuit but if you are a real business person you should ask yourself whether did you provide back any values to your spectators?
Back then when Mokhzani was CEO, he had lots of ideas to make F1 weekend attracting. Shopping sales, events, roadshows, and many more which brings knowledge to people. He MAKES us interested rather than EXPECTING us to be interested. You? Did NOTHING!
Who the hell in the international communities at F1 races attracted to Aiman Tino kind of celeb to perform at F1NALE? Its the FINAL Malaysian GP and you brought the WORST line up of celebrities except for M.Nasir and Akim and the Majistret. The others are shit. Get your head right, Mr CEO. Don’t be dumb. If the quality of Aiman Tino you expect to attract youths and young people, you are also shit. No one is paying hundred, thousand of dollars F1 tickets just to watch shit celebs perfoming without watching the race itself as the boggest attraction.
You cannot compare F1 to MotoGP as it has different target spectators. F1 is mostly based on people with higher incomes or elite classes. F1 fans are attracted to F1 because of F1, not some cheap promoters’ stuffs. MotoGP is all about two wheels and majority of the fans attending are our so-called mat rempit and mat bikers.
I hope the next CEO of SIC will work hard to bring back F1 to Malaysia.
When the country is getting more and more conservative and religious extremist are gaining grounds here, tourists and high profile concerts/events would skip Malaysia altogether for fear of their safety and inconvenience of cancelling the event due to political pressure. Better organise it in Singapore or Thailand. Tourism Malaysia is getting very quiet this year.
he is right . since turbo came , it became so quiet that i didnt bother to watch it anymore , be it on site or tv. The loud sound of yesteryears F1 is the most exciting part.
I still remember when I in early 20s, F1 is one of my favourite sport. I can seat in front of television from qualified session until the race end. at that time, I only got 1 chance to watch live race.
The best part is who will get the pole position. Every driver tried to beat the best time for 1 hour given time.
But now, I admit I can’t stay and watch F1 for 2 hours or get some excitement from them. Not because F1 it self, but I believe at my age now, my interest is not for F1.
F1 has their own fan especially for gen Y and Z. It just like a loop of life. Who know FIA will change their market strategy to make the F1 not at the same circuit every year calendar race.
I’m glad he said it. It needs to be said. I love F1, but there’s a lot wrong with it right now. Too much disparity in performance, too little focus on drivers, races too long (possibly), and tracks not very interesting (Tilke: have you heard of ‘undulations’??)
The management of SIC don’t have passion with F1 and motorsports, not focus on future development. Most of them only directors many-many companies. I believe this is the problem of GLCs and Malaysian companies. You can check their background here,
http://www.sepangcircuit.com/about/sic-board-of-directors-management
Stupid remark indeed. Not intelligent at all
This guy is an embarrassment. Pure and simple. I have read the previous comments here, and I have to agree this CEO is acting like a typical fool.
Here is a snippet from the Thursday pre-race press conference transcript from formula1.com that is worth highlighting
Q: (Louis Dekker – NOS) for all drivers, what will you miss from Malaysia next year when we are not returning?
KR: To be honest, I don’t know if we’re going to miss it. It’s a nice circuit but the only thing you see is the airport, the hotel next to the airport and the circuit, so you can choose from that what you’re going to miss.
KR was Kimi’s comments…it was quite funny to hear him say this, but its true.
if you compare the total product of F1 in Singapore vs Malaysia, it’s like night and day, excuse the pun :)
Declining tickets sales, drop in attendances, popularity etc are all just consequences of a poor product as a whole.
Razali has a point about the engine sounds, lack of overtaking etc, but the bigger problem in Sepang, was the whole event’s lack of marketing, support races, concerts and other on ground activation that were just non existent.
I’m a die hard F1 fan, and I am absolutely devastated that F1 is not coming back to Sepang for the foreseeable future.
I remember attending the first race in 1999, and sitting in the hillstand area with my friends. Even back then we noticed the shambolic organisation of the race, and sheer incompetence on display by the local personnel.
At the end of the day, SIC lost Sepang due to their own incompetence. And it wasn’t the other way around.
as usual. own failure…. blame everyone else. this is the mentally, so called Malaysia Boleh. Whatnto expect, tidak apa attitude. When it’s good , take everyone else credit. When it’s not good, blame everyone else.
The country is going down by bunch of good for nothing deadwood.
LoL
Bernie is right. You can’t make someone look stupid. They are stupid by nature.
These crooks know nuts about businesses. They need to be fed and most probably still going to fail.
F1 is suitable for advanced countries . MotoGP is suitable for bolehland for obvious reasons .
Isn’t Singapore doing well with F1 even if it’s held at night?
MotoKapcai more suitable for (tak) bolehland
Nope. They oso losing money like water down the drain and was thinking to stop in 2018.
Typical egoistic CEO who basically only knows how to suck government balls.
…said unconstructive commenter. We dun need this kind of comment here
Maybe unconstructive but its a fact. Yours on the other hand is just wasting space.
These people just can’t accept criticism and can’t handle the truth. All they know is to give praise to their Abang 2
Liberty Media doesnt look any different from Bernie. They lament holding the F1 in “far-flung places” eg Baku and China. Now that Malaysia is off the slot, I guess Vietnam can finally get in?
Razlan has some good points wrt the sports itself, but saying such things doesnt do him any favour in providing a good explanation. He just needs to whine, doesnt he?
First of all how can a non F1 enthusiast become the CEO of SIC? By saying no one watch the race from the beginning till the end, that already says alot about yourself. I don’t know what you do or where you run off to after the race starts. I don’t care. But saying you won’t host an F1 race even for free?? Are you for real? Are you high on something?
Compared to your neighbor….who has no purpose build track…higher cost of running….no prior experience in any motor racing event…still they are surviving…why huh?
what a comment from an arrogant useless CEO..
just look at the after race concert performers.. and compare to Singapore after race concert performers.. thanks to those ridiculous conservative religious political parties with narrow mindset who love to ban here & there
one thing is true from the CEO, we wont host F1 here and WE DONT DESERVE to host F1 due to our country’s strong political & narrow mindset culture..
in fact we DONT DESERVE to have good things here in Malaysia.
The reason why the country as a whole is in such turmoil is because of morons like this dickhead. Just look at how singapore host the same event and they’re thriving….international artist, almost 500,000 international tourists, billions worth of $$$ transactions…how come? it’s simple, you give a garland to a monkey, what do you expect? I believe, the management of the country is just the same, let’s hand it over to the singaporeans and see what they will make out of it…after all, Singapore is the world’s 3rd richest country with not a single natural resources. Shame on you Razlan!! you should be FIRED!!
Dun mix country and SIC mgmt. If u see how SG manage their CPF & GLCs, u will cry thanks for those we have here.
All over the world, all countries lining up to host F1
Even first world Singapore consider it as an honour.
Malaysia is the ONLY country in the world to turn down hosting F1
This is why Singapore Dollar is 3.3 to Ringgit and Singapore is first world
For years, i have stopped watching F1 since they limited rules changed just to stop Ferrari from dominating the race. F1 is talking about the Formula which is the number one but with all those limitation, you won’t see that anymore, it’s like fantasy league, everyone given a limited budget to compete, the richest got no effort to develop the formula that we thrived to see. If the race can go faster, who would have sit there for 2 hours, just use a Kancil and drive a circuit of 500m is enough.
aiya, maybe people also don’t want SIC to host F1 anymore in the first place.
Haha, How come other country is making money and we dont.
Anything manage by the Local Monkey will eventually bankrupt like what happened to Proton/MAS/KTM…etc.
Pls list which track is making more money than expenditure for the race?
It is exciting for us!
obviously you are not a racing fan….. so step down!
you all guys stop thinking and blaming on malaysia gov or sic, take a look at the BIG picture, F1 has been sold to USA media company, no more UK product, so, better leave those people that you dont really understand.