SEPANG – After a two-year absence from all international motorsports calendars, the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) has finally opened its doors to the public, hosting the 2022 MotoGP Official Test.
In an interview with The Vibes, SIC chief executive officer Azhan Shafriman Hanif says the circuit faced many challenges before being able to host major international motorsports events.
“We were badly affected by the Movement Control Order (MCO) for the past two years, but so far it has been a good start for 2022.
“In terms of the preparations and approvals required to have this event, it took a lot of sweat and tears. But we are very glad we got it all sorted out and we can have more of these events in the coming months,” he said.
Although SIC is on the MotoGP calendar for this season, it still has not gotten the green light from the government.
Shafriman says the situation is very “fluid” at the moment.
“We have everything in place for the upcoming event in October, we are working very closely with the Youth and Sports Ministry to get the approval. Hopefully, this can be a benchmark for the main event.
“We are targeting for 100% capacity for the race in October, but it is, of course, limited to what happens in October, especially regarding the Covid-19 pandemic in the country,” said Shafriman.
The circuit has been undergoing several refurbishments over the years, and Shafriman says it is an important landmark in the country as well as in the motorsporting world.
“As you can see from the current situation in SIC, some things have been refurbished. The rooftop for the grandstand has been upgraded, and all the toilets have been changed as well.
“Of course, there are a few other things that we need to look at to spruce up the place,” he added.
Meanwhile, when asked about the prospects of seeing SIC return to the Formula 1 (F1) calendar, Shafriman says even though hosting an F1 race is lucrative, it still comes with a price.
“The price is not cheap, if we do decide to bring F1 back, we have to look at the return of investment to Malaysia and the spillover effects to the country.
“When we were hosting F1, a lot of parties benefitted, but the support slowly wilted away throughout the years.
“But then again to get back into the F1 calendar is difficult as right now the sport has 23 races for the whole year.
“If it makes sense in the future, we will do it, if not, we have to look at other events,” he said.
Speaking on future plans for the circuit and its surrounding areas, he aims to have the grounds offer more than just motor racing.
“One of the big projects that we hope to bring and kick off this year is the driving experience centre, which will be modelled after the Porsche Driving Experience in Europe.
“It will be the first driving experience centre in the region. We hope with this we can offer more products as well as bring in additional revenue.
“What I want SIC to be is more of a lifestyle event venue that people will think about over the weekends.
“I want to open up more lifestyle events for the moms and the kids because this place should be more family-orientated,” Shafriman added.
He also says that the circuit wants to bring back concerts, which in the past has played host to many large-scale concerts with international artists.
“When the public thinks about somewhere to go, somewhere to enjoy motorsports and other forms of entertainment, they should think of SIC. That’s the idea that we want to seed into the public,” he added. – The Vibes, February 2, 2022.
