The Sepang International Circuit (SIC) hopes the upcoming Races of Malaysia will lure enthusiasts to enjoy world class events as the international circuit will play host to an array of interesting activities in 2020.
SIC chief executive officer Datuk Razlan Razali said the FIA World Touring Car Cup and the FIM Endurance World Championship scheduled Dec 13 -15 will be a perfect attraction for two-wheels and four-wheel lovers.
“It’s also suitable for families, given that it’s the public holidays now. There will be several sideshows including live performances, carnival for children and booths by manufacturers so that they gain more engagement with fans,” said Razlan.
The FIA World Touring Car Cup is the highest class of competition for touring cars. The Malaysian round will be the grand finale of the 10 global rounds this season. The race will see 26 full season entries with eight different car manufacturers.
The FIM Endurance World Championship is the premier worldwide endurance motorcycle racing championship. The Sepang round named the ‘8 Hour of Sepang’ will see at least 20 Japanese and 10 Asian teams competing as it will be the qualifying round to the legendary Suzuka 8 Hours in 2020.
Four Malaysians will be involved in the World Touring Car Cup event while another seven Malaysians will be part of the Endurance World Championship.
“Fans will have more accessibility to the drivers and riders. It’s more open compared to F1 and MotoGP. It’s a great way to be up close and personal with the action.”
SIC has set a conservative target of 30,000 fans to hit the stands for the two-day event but is confident the numbers will grow for the coming editions.
“We have to start from somewhere. It took SIC a decade before earning some profit from hosting the MotoGP. At the last race, we had 170,000 fans flock to the stands over the three days. That’s how big MotoGP has grown and we expect the figures to further increase next year,” added Razlan.
“It will take time but I’m sure we can grow the number of fans for next year’s edition of the Races of Malaysia.”
Razlan was met at the National Press Club of Malaysia (NPC) last night as he handed 50 main grandstand tickets, worth RM220 each, to the club. Also present was NPC president Datuk Ahirudin Attan.
Having been recently gazetted as an entertainment zone, Razlan said SIC is set to host more exciting activities including concerts and is looking forward to the construction of the driving experience centre.
“Gazetting SIC as an entertainment zone means we will be able to organise concerts again. We will become a hub for concert organisers, akin to a one stop centre.
“Construction of the driving experience centre will start in May and should be completed within the first quarter of 2021. I’m pretty excited about this centre as it will be a dedicated facility to stimulate all types of driving conditions. We plan to work closely with (car and motorcycle) manufacturers, insurance companies and even the Transport Ministry to ensure we start having safe and responsible drivers and riders on our roads.”
“Perhaps those who undergo training at our centre will be given discounts by the insurance companies when the driver renews his or her premium. This is just one example that we are exploring.”
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