Will Formula 1 make a return to the Sepang International Circuit? Prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is hoping that it will, expressing his desire to see the race being run once again at Sepang, The Star reports.
He made the comment at the Petronas SIC Motorsports Association of Malaysia (MAM) Awards 2018 last night, where he was conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award by the MAM.
Dr Mahathir said he never expected the motorsport scene in Malaysia to thrive as it did when he first set out to develop a world class race track in Malaysia. “I remember my visit to Estoril in Portugal, which inspired me to have a similar track in Malaysia. I never thought it would bring 10,000 to 20,000 people to the track,” he said.
“The reception was good. Malaysians took up racing themselves and are now very well into motor racing and also the engineering behind the cars. So we have gained a lot of things from the Sepang races and the money spent on the track was well worth it. I hope the races (at Sepang) will continue into the future, and I also hope Formula 1 will come back in all its glory,” he said.
The SIC played host to Formula 1 for 19 straight years, from 1999 to 2017. Declining interest in the race and the high costs incurred were reasons cited for not continuing with it from 2018. The track however continues to host the popular MotoGP, which has been drawing record-breaking crowds in recent years.
Do you think that Malaysia should make a return to hosting an F1 race? Share your viewpoints on the matter in the comments section.
Simple, if we lose money then dont do it.
Later gomen will bail out SIC as it kept on losing.
Why moto gp is famous and have loyal fans?
Its because normal people can afford to ride be it kapchai or superbike.
Why we have interest in the Saga cup and similar race? Because normal people can afford to do it and its based on vehicle we lived with daily.
Why people dont bother abt formula 1 anymore?
Because people dont see the point of it and could not relate it to their daily lives.
British American Tobacco make Malaysia F1 Great again!
Tun M is doing such a great job running the country. Thank you Tun M. Because of you, investments will pour into Sepang back again.
Thank you for giving us a clean Government!
is about the ticket price ok !
Kunta kinte, what type of drug ur take.. pelase share with us
20 years of corruption made our Sepang circuit lose money
Lucky white man company make Malaysia F1 great again!
It is not bout SIC losing money but the govt who will spend money to support the event n don’t get much return for what they spend.
Just like 1MDB, we lost hundreds of billions, yet, previous Government supported it kaw kaw. Just one man show somemore
For these people, 1MDB is fake news or a conspiracy. To them, dedak is more important one
So u mean the new govt do the same thing? Argh I forget u are just troller..wasting my time replying to u
Petronas is fortunate enough to be sponsoring the current double world championship cars and it is only logical to have the races in Malaysia again. Although we maybe spending money on this, the payback from PR exposure and business opportunities can easily give back the money to us. Our Sepang F1 track is one of the best tracks in the world and is much more entertaining than the absolutely boring Singapore race. So please bring F1 back to Sepang!
I hope they fire the Sepang CEO first. That rempit CEO is one of the reasons we lost hosting F1 race here.
What business opportunities…? Does M’sia really need anymore ‘PR’ exposure…?
Sincerely… don’t care if F1 returns or not. If it is back… make sure no govt money… or the rakyat’s money is being used. Let it be organised by private sector. Doubt they will make money.
Malaysia don’t need anymore PR exposure. Whole world already know us. We are now No 1 for the biggest corruption in world history
Yeap. For electing back the biggest corruptor back into the highest office. What fools we were!
Yes ever since the new PM back in 1981, with his right hand man clearing up the jungles of Sarawak to enrich his family…
Sepang F1 track is one of the best tracks in the world? Yeah, 10 years ago. Since then so many better and more exciting purpose-built tracks had came up. There is ZERO PR exposure since Petronas had carried the PR campaign well being splashed in every race, not just for one race. Neither there is business opportunities we lose money more than we make from hosting F1.
Lucky we have clean and competent people now running the show.
Everybody wants to invest in a clean and honest Government and not a kleptocratic government
The guys running Sepang before were all lazy and never work hard. This is why they could not make money from F1
Everything also got middle man. Middle man jack up figure to 3 times more. So how to make money?
Our track used to be good but no maintenance. This is why so many cars accident masuk longkang.
Aiyoo…Bro..obviously you have not been to Sepang circuit…please point out where is the longkang besides the track??
Yes, bring it back. Create a race village/town. create and engage people in various activities throughout the few days. Hotels, malls/shops casinos, theme parks, and carnivals. make people stay for a couple of days and not make people come here for a couple of hours…
Yep. Make it like Woodstock & Glastonbury here in UK is a five day iconic festival happening.
Woodstock & Glastonbury are known more for the hippie concerts rather than the races.
F1 and Sepang muziq movie festival konpom meletopp! #maluApoPencurikuur
Wasn’t the country supposed to be broke poor? So why?
Why continue to lose money (that we supposedly did not have in the first place!) on a sport with declining interest?
For his legacy? For his ego? Is this what we voted for?
Why? Read the article again and speculating like all those trolls
After reading, here is my take:
“thought it would bring 10,000 to 20,000 people to the track”. That is a very, very, very low figure for an international race and certainly a sure way to lose money quickly. If he just wanted to draw in 10,000 people, just hold a much cheaper rempit race.
“The reception was good.” Emphasise ‘WAS’. It is still declining year by year.
“Malaysians well into motor racing”. Other races but not F1. F1 racing in Sepang didn’t contribute to this achievement. Please don’t take that credit from MotoGP and other local series.
“engineering behind the cars”. What engineering? Petronas did more for motorsports engineering from their partnership with AMG F1, and they didn’t need Sepang F1 races to do that.
“money spent on the track was well worth it.” It certainly wasn’t his money, so of course he deemed it well spent.
can we ask the Gov to collect back the money from those borrowing legally from PTPTN first before spending?
What collect…? Govt wants to abolish PTPTN altogether. The borrowers need not pay back what they owe. Didn’t u hear..?
Oh wait… that was… urm… just shattered promises. Never mind.
According to resident bashing troll sapoter, all their promises r fake news, this includes their degrees as well. All of them in Cabinet r fakes.
Yes, i hope to watch F1 again in our land. Pls bring back F1, this is what Sepang circuit is for. Previous government was foolish enough to axe this prestigious annual event & put our country off the motorsports map.
It was a half baked idea from TunM. Sepang was built with govt money… rakyat’s money. It should have been left to the private sector to run, manage and organise events. The whole area should have been develop to complement related industries.
There was no clear growth or benefit from holding the event aside putting M’sia’s name on the map.
I am more happy to see
1) Mat Rampit Superman motorcycle race in a special build track, so if they ever race on the street again, go to jail and bike will be scrap.
2) Young kids Superman bicycle race in a special build track so they can grow up to be a proper racer, now if caught any kids race on the streets, parents will be penalty and bicycle will be scrap.
The above is win-win-win for all.
If Vietnam & Baku can host F1 why not MALAYSIA
The problem is not F1. Its the people who manage it here before who are incompetent. If singapore and monaco can make F1 glamorous despite their boring street race, why not malaysia aka ‘the hottest race in the world’?
The problem is not F1? Yes, tell that to Silverstone, Hockenheim, Nurburgring and Magny-Cours organisers. It’s certainly their fault for falling audiences and boring racing around hallowed and historic tracks such as theirs.
We already done that for almost 20yrs
Pirate King is preparing for more plundering once again. Arrgh me mateys! There be gold in Sepang F1!
Right on mate!!!
It is about sustaining the event and bringing long term benefit to certain industries, giving it a boost to the industry’s development and growth. The govt should not be the one coughing up the money to bring the sports event. That means its the rakyat’s money. If a private company wants to bring and hold F1 event, then by all means.
TunM created the Sepang Circuit without a clear long term plan for it…. itself is not a sustainable entity economic wise. The surrounding area should have been developed to encourage growth in related industries… engineering technology r&d on future automotive needs. That is why it failed.
Vietnam & Baku will feel the pinch soon. Why don’t you cite Singapore then…? They too held it for quite a whil and then quit. Learn from them.
LeTour deLangkawi LTDL is another idea economically unsustainable for Malaysia. People come for the event and they leave. There is no inherent benefit or construtive growth of holding the event long term… not to mention the various organisers who have never made a profit from it.
Japan GT also need to come back
So, are we in debt amounting to trillion ringgit or not? Do we have money to bring back F1 race to Malaysia?
Are we really in debt? I just wonder whether I can trust this government or not. Lying about their education credentials just makes me wonder what else they are lying about…
Please, this country has a lot of potential. We can prosper. Don’t la think about your own coffers only…
Please bring F1 back!
Remember what happened to HAAS?
Bring back Formula E~!
Because Singapore is doing a better job, so nobody wants to come to bolehland
S’pore doing a better job…? At what..? Organising F1 race…?
Sure why not… doesn’t matter now… coz they too quit organising it.
Boring car racing.
What most people don’t know is that it does cost the government money; either in terms of part sponsorship or tax free status for the sponsors.
It can be a money-making event if it is proceed and positioned right to the open public.
Accessibility to the venue also remains a chore after all these years and one must find a better way to transport them there.
bring it back
I think Tun M was misquoted by the reporter here :
“I remember my visit to Estoril in Portugal, which inspired me to have a similar track in Malaysia. I never thought it would bring 10,000 to 20,000 people to the track,”
I think in his speech yesterday he was referring to what Tilke had designed for Sepang Circuit, as he had thought that the circuit was designed to accommodate 10k – 20k spectators, but instead it was a huge facility, and the circuit have been able to attract attendance to fill the place up with motorsports fans.
Truth be told, Formula One coming back would cost a lot of money to the rakyat; but economic impact study had shown the multiplier effect the sport had on the nation’s economy (believe it was at 3.15 to 1 MYR spent); however that’s back in 2011 though.
A thorough analysis, (not just I/O analysis, something more detailed and are able to accurately measure the income generation possibilities) would need to be conducted by relevant bodies to study the feasibility of organizing F1 again, and commercial negos with Liberty Media to acquire organizing and commercial rights at a better fee structure would be integral for this to possibly happen.
I’m sure there are capable negotiators within the govt who are able to navigate this discussion.
Seriously… what multiplyer effect…? Where is these benefits that help nurture and grow the automotive sports industry…? Is M’sia spearheading an innovative automotive engineering industry that we do not know of…? The govt as organiser has not been sustainably making money. The hotel and accomodation spikes up during the race weekend then back to normal.
A stadium to fill 10-20k spectators every weekend… now that could be sustainable. Not with a once a year event like F1. The govt needs to stop looking at once-a-year event programs and think it will help spur economic growth. That is a delusion.
To be honest, F1 isnt the insane sport it used to be. As long as the v8s and v10s dont return to F1, i dont miss F1 in malaysia.
Ada untung ka sebelum ni? Singapore & Thailand saingan f1
I hope they can bring it back. I may not attend to watch it at Sepang but I believe F1 drivers love to race at Sepang. Even Valtteri Bottas didn’t want Sepang to be dropped from F1 race. With unexpect weather condition, perfect track layout with sharp low speed to long high speed corner, we definitely want to see more action by the driver. Sepang has been well-known by many racer globally, and dropping it from F1 calendar will be a shame.
Yes, bring it back. Negotiate on the terms and conditions with the franchise holder for a win win situation.