KUALA LUMPUR: Responsible parties must establish a solid motorsports base if the government plans to bring back Formula One (F1) racing to the country.
Former F1 driver, Alex Yoong said it would be impossible to attract interest of local motorsports fans to watch F1 races if there was no initiative being undertaken by relevant parties to promote the prestigious racing event.
Yoong claimed that only Sepang International Circuit (SIC) did a great job of organising various motorsports events in the country to draw the interest of local motorsports fans for the past several years.
“In the 90’s, local motorsports were very strong. SIC is doing a great job but it’s only one venue and its very hard for the people to go to the venue...We need more venues.
“If Formula One comes back into the country and there are no good, attractive activities being organised, it will not grow as motorsports involve fans,” he told reporters when responding to news reports on a proposal to bring F1 back to Malaysia.
Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad recently said that the government intended to bring back F1 due to the interest it had generated in the automotive industry among Malaysians, but the former did not mention the exact timeline as to when the prestigious racing event would be making a return to the country.
SIC had hosted the Malaysian Grand Prix, which was part of the F1 World Championship, from 1999 to 2017.
The previous administration had scrapped the event, citing declining returns and the high costs involved in hosting an F1 race. Bernama