Malaysia may ditch Formula 1
Sunday, 26 Oct, 2016
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Malaysia is mulling ending its 17-year association with Formula 1 due to falling interest and ticket sales.
The fate of the annual Formula 1 race at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC), near Kuala Lumpur, will likely be decided before the end of the week, said SIC CEO Datuk Razlan Razali.
"The F1 ticket sales here have gone down since 2014. In contrast, the Malaysia Motorcycle GrandPrix (MotoGP) looks more promising in terms of attracting spectators and its potential spill over effects," he said at a media briefing.
SIC’s current contract as a F1 race host expires in 2018.
"A temporary withdrawal from F1 (after 2018) could be beneficial for the country to take a break. Currently, some say, the product (F1) is no longer exciting as it is being dominated by one team. An initial report for the last F1 race also showed that television viewership in Malaysia was the lowest in history," he added.
The circuit currently sees MotoGP as a much more attractive prospect.
"Last year we saw 85,000 spectators for our MotoGP. This year, as all the tickets were already sold out, we target a record 90,000 spectators, inclusive of the hill stands. Moving forward, if all parties collaborate, inclusive of the ministries of tourism, sports and communication, we may improve further," Razali said.
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