a long time Ago that the Malaysian Grand Prix let it be the visit exotic calendar. The race broke molds when it debuted on the calendar in the 1999, in the, by then, ultra-modern circuit Sepang, being the first event played outside of the traditional markets of Formula 1, and opening the doors to asian expansion: Bahrain, China, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Korea, India… however, after 17 editions disputed, the country malay has begun to find more cons that pros to the dispute of the Grand Prix, and have already emerged the first official voices that argue that test out the calendar for a while.
The main reason behind these positions lies in the financial aspect. Despite the fact that Sepang is regarded as one of the best circuits on the calendar for riders and fans, the race has been losing viewers face-to-face gradually with the passing of the years, to the point that this season they have only sold 60% of the locations offered for sale.
in Front, is the tremendous popularity that it enjoys in the country and the World Motorcycling championship, that he has fit in more with the malay culture of the racing world. Malaysia has pilots that tend to have good performances in Moto2 and Moto3, and the event you get to fill the stands year after year. 2016 will not be an exception, since the sales are going at a good pace to hang again the sign “no tickets”.
For this reason, this week there will be a meeting between the owners of Sepang and the ministry of finance malaysian to determine the future of the test, which has a contract signed until the season 2018. In statements to the local newspaper The New Strait Times, the executive director of the circuit, Datuk Ahmad Razlan Ahmad Razali, said that the country should reconsider whether race should continue to dispute, alleging that the product is not attractive for the domain of Mercedes, whose main sponsor, ironically, is Petronas, the national oil and sponsor of the Grand Prize.
“The television audience has been the worst in history (of the event). Maybe it will be good for Malaysia that us to take a break. I think that the product is no longer exciting. It is dominated by a single team”.
In the same line is uttered by the Minister of Youth and Sports of the country, Khairy Jamaluddin. Comparing the benefits of the Formula 1 and MotoGP, the two wheels offer many more advantages, and that the attractiveness of the Formula 1 event has been disintegrating over time as more countries on the continent have hosted tests:
“I Think that we should stop to receive the Formula 1, at least for a time. The costs are very high, and return, limited. When we receive for the first time in Formula 1, it was something very important, the first race in Asia outside of Japan. Now there are many others. Since we do not have the advantage of being the first, it is not a novelty. For the record, I think that we should continue to organize the MotoGP race: Fees and costs cheaper, the stands are full and we have riders in Moto2 and Moto3″.
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