SEPANG – The action on track during Round 2 of the Malaysia Championship Series at Sepang this past weekend was nothing short of exciting, but it was a shame few were in the stands to witness it.
The empty seats were a sore sight during the three days of action for the local four-wheel motor racing series, especially when entry to the main grandstand was free.
Seeing very few local motorsports fans in the stands was perplexing.
Add this to the fact Round 2 achieved the milestone of having the most participants with 54 cars taking part across four categories.
So, why is interest from fans so low, when the series is oversubscribed in terms of participants?
‘More work needs to be done’
Sepang International Circuit chief executive Azhan Shafriman Hanif acknowledged that more needs to be done to promote the series.
“I’m quite glad the participation of the drivers over this weekend has increased,” he said. “But of course, we need to work further to get people here to the stands.
“I understand if you are a hardcore fan, of course you would come to the race.
“But if you are here and there is nothing to do outside, then why would I come all the way to Sepang, so we need to work on that. My team and I will investigate how to increase the spectatorship at the circuit,” he said.
The series includes touring car racing – heavily modified road-going cars – and features four categories.
The Touring Production category is for modified production and turbo cars up to 2000cc, while the Malaysia Touring Car category is for the modified class of 1600cc and below, Stock Production 1 is for cars up to 2000cc, and lastly, Stock Production 2 is for cars below 1600cc.
It serves as the proving ground for young local drivers and even boosts veteran drivers like Malaysia’s former Formula One driver Alex Yoong.
It is also an international series with participants hailing from neighbouring Asean countries and even as far as Latin America.
‘Spectators need a reason to come’
Azhan also accepts that more needs to be done to promote the race.
“To be honest we need to work harder in terms of promoting and marketing this race to the fans.
“At the moment, our shout-outs are done via our social media and press releases for our friends in the media.
“What we need to do better in the coming rounds is to provide additional things for the spectators, especially in terms of food and beverage options.
“We also need to provide them with activities to do outside (of the race) and so on, but these are the things that we need to improve,” he said.
‘Getting corporate support’
Azhan, who took over as Sepang circuit chief in April 2020, is looking to engage with corporate sponsors to come in and support the race.
“One of the things that we might be looking at further in the near future is to get more corporate companies or sponsors to come in to support the race.
“As you can see the participation is very good, I think the viewership on Facebook and also YouTube is also good.
“If brands want to come in and support us, we will be even better than we are right now.
“I welcome corporate companies who are interested to come in – big or small – it doesn’t matter as long as they come in and support our race,” he said.
There will be two more rounds of racing in the series: Round 3 will take place from August 25-27 and the final round will be held from September 22-24. – The Vibes, June 26, 2023
