For the local racing community, the end of August isn’t just about celebrating our nation’s independence, it’s also a time to look forward to well, racing.
The annual Merdeka Race at Sepang Internatonal Circuit (SIC) has roots that go back to 1998. It was started by Proton, and the Proton Merdeka 300 KM race was very much a grassroots event. SIC then took the initiative and successfully launched the first ever Merdeka Millennium 12-hour Endurance (MME) race from 2000.
The direction of the MME changed in 2009 with the introduction of a spin-off endurance race for smaller capacity vehicles, the Sepang 1000 KM race. The MME went upmarket, courting wealthy gentleman racers and their GT cars. A slow decline started. More on the history of the Merdeka Race here.
From 2018, Malaysia Speed Festival (MSF) moved its annual Enduro round to Merdeka weekend, reviving the tradition of the Merdeka race as a longer, endurance-type event. It was also the first official race to be run at night under the then-newly-installed floodlights at SIC. Over 200 cars participated in the MSF Merdeka Enduro 2018, which was an entertaining race.
For this year, the Merdeka Race is showing signs of becoming the great Malaysian endurance race that it once was, with MSF Merdeka Enduro teaming up with SIC and adding the Malaysia Championship Series (MCS) to the race programme. It will be big, with an estimated 250 cars set to take part in six endurance-type races across multiple category types.
Malaysia’s biggest four-wheel racing event happens this weekend, August 29-30 at SIC. With the recovery movement control order (RMCO) to curb Covid-19 still in place, the Merdeka Race will be held behind closed doors without any spectators. However, you can still catch the race action live on the Facebook pages of both MSF and Sepang Circuit. There will also be a a delayed telecast on Astro Arena channel 801/802HD the following week. See the schedule above. See you there, online!
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Now with Covid, all this should be cancelled for the safety of the rakyat.
This is just an utter waste of money and is very high risk
Do you lack reading comprehension to grasp “behind closed doors without any spectators”?
It was actually ended by Proton because of the controversial race system crashed in 1999.
It showed how incapable of SIC preparing and handling of the track enroute to its inaugural 1st F1.
Until then, all the former officials had been expelled by SIC, hence got the curse from us. Until now SIC is a joke and still carries the jinx for life.