Former Sepang International Circuit CEO Razlan Razali said Malaysia should seriously consider any offer to host a race later this year. (SIC pic)KUALA LUMPUR: The Sepang International Circuit (SIC) can once again attract thousands of spectators if Malaysia is given the opportunity to host a one-off F1 race, said its former CEO, Razlan Razali.Razlan said the surge in F1's popularity over the past few years, driven largely by Netflix's documentary series "Drive to Survive", has sparked a new wave of fans, including women and younger audiences, and transformed the motorsport landscape significantly since Malaysia stopped hosting F1 in 2017.He said the shift presents Malaysia with an ideal opportunity to host the prestigious race again should it be invited to replace any cancelled round resulting from geopolitical conflicts."It has now been more than five years. If there is an official request from Liberty Media for Sepang to take over a cancelled round, I think Malaysia should seriously consider it because opportunities like this do not come often," he told Bernama.He said any decision should, however, be made only after evaluating the terms offered by Liberty Media, particularly the hosting costs, which he believes could be lower than in the past.Razlan said if the race is held as a one-off event, ticket prices should be kept affordable to encourage strong domestic demand, especially if it is scheduled close to the Singapore Grand Prix."If it is held before or after Singapore (Oct 11), we may have only about a month to promote and sell tickets.
That is why ticket prices must be reasonable because this is not a regular event. What matters is that F1 and the FIA accept the existing conditions because there is simply not enough time for major modifications," he said.Former Malaysian F1 driver Alex Yoong said any effort to bring the prestigious race back to Sepang should be undertaken at a reasonable cost so that ticket prices remain affordab…
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