No more Malaysian F1 GP after 2018!

Amirul

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Jun 7, 2016
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It is confirmed, folks. No more F1 GP to be held in our home circuit, Sepang International Circuit. The news was announced and confirmed by the Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz, following certain rumours that has been circulating over the past few months.

According to Nazri, the current (renewed) agreement expires in 2018, and it is safe to say that no sign of renewal seen to this date. Nazri added that he agrees with Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin who had also mulled on dropping the prestigious motorsport event last month, saying that the race is proving to be a costly affair and is not bringing expected returns to the country.

“F1 attendance is dropping and there is less attraction now. We are spending RM300 million a year (for the race),” Nazri said. “We are not even making back RM300 million,” he added.

Since it started back in 1999, the F1 Malaysian Grand Prix with Petronas being the main sponsor has been a fixture in the motorsport calendar for 17 consecutive years. The minister also added that the attendance in other F1 Grand Prix across the world has been declining.

Nazri also said that the lack of local drivers in F1 also contributed to dwindling interests, as opposed to motorcycle racing where we have Malaysian riders competing, apart from more action showcased by the race.

Can it return?

The question here is, will 2018 be the last F1 race ever held in Malaysia? An F1 circuit can be dismissed from the motorsport events due to many factors that include circuit repairs and reconstruction, financial as well as political issue.



The Fuji Speedway Circuit, Japan

History shows that an F1 circuit can make its return into the racing calendar. For example, Autódromo Juan y Oscar Gálvez circuit in Buenos Aires, Argentina hosted 20 F1 races on and off between 1953 and 1998 using a range of different layouts. Same goes to Fuji Speedway circuit in Japan, where F1 has had 2 brief stints at the circuit – 1976 to 1977 and 2007 to 2008.



The Baku Street Circuit, Azerbaijan

Even before the debut of Baku Circuit in Azerbaijan as the 2016 European GP, few circuits also surfaced into consideration. These circuits - Detroit Street Circuit (US), Indianapolis Motor Speedway (US), Valencia Street Circuit (Spain), Korea International Circuit (Korea) and Buddh International Circuit (India) – were all facing the possibility of hosting the glamorous racing event, again.

Let’s take a look at it this way: F1 GP hosting contract for SIC is not going to be renewed in the near future, instead of saying that 2018 will be the final F1 GP held by the country. The dismissal and the return of an F1 circuit into the calendar is not a rare case and is believed to be taken optimistically.

It is just a matter of possibility.
 
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6UE5t

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Oh ya would be great to also have FIA GT world championship come to SIC! I would certainly go and watch that too.
 

vr2turbo

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Oh ya would be great to also have FIA GT world championship come to SIC! I would certainly go and watch that too.
But they gave up F1 because no earning, less viewership, do you think they will bring something else in?:smokin:
 

Bremboy71

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This is what is happening to Sao Paulo Brazil, They slowly kill the sport by saying to much spending nut the will sell the land for real state and build. But speculations for land suppresses what they call spending on a sport. No room for anything any more.
 

mag9556

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though that some minionster said F1 will be continue when Singapore confirmed that they do not want to organize? bolehland.. really bolehland...
 

driftkingII

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driftkingII

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This is taken from Paul Tan

Malaysia wouldn’t want to host F1, even for free – SIC

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.

Taken from HERE

sounds familiar like that what he said on MotoGP n SuperGT once upon a time.

anyway F1 fans come, we will give u a hug, we understand your feelings..
 
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6UE5t

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It's F1 loss that there's no more SIC in the calendar. SIC is one of the best layout in the world and due to the climate also one of the toughest. Actually this year the competition is better than last year due to Ferrari resurgence and the much faster cars but the technical rules are just too complicated & ridiculous. The cars also despite the speed, still lack the hair raising, ear shattering screams of the old NA engines, plus they still have those ugly dick nose designs! :banghead: Anyway, I'm still an F1 fan so I still follow, just a pity no more SIC.
 

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