MALAYSIA will serve as the venue of top-class motorsports action when it hosts the second leg of the Formula One World Championship—the Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix—from March 21 to 23 at the 5.543-km Sepang International Circuit (SIC).

And to make the event a very successful one on its10th year, the organizers have put together an international road tour not only to promote the race but also the country’s tourism.

Recently, a highly charged launch party was held for Filipino Formula One fans at the Embassy Super Club at The Fort in Taguig City, which top Malaysian and Filipino officials attended. Aside from Philippine Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano, the director general of Tourism Malaysia, Dato Mirza Taiyab, and Dato Azmi Murad, general manager of the SIC, were on also on hand to announce the renewal of the contract to stage the Grand Prix of Malaysia up to 2015.

World’s hottest race. Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit beckons to F1 aficionados all over the world.

The Motorsports Commission of Malaysia successfully negotiated the contract, which was due to expire on 2010, with Formula One Management Ltd.’s Bernie Eccelstone in August last year.

“We are truly excited to launch the Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix this year because we are celebrating our 10th year of hosting a race for the world’s most glamorous racing series,” said Murad.

He added that this being the 10th year of hosting the event, the SIC is targeting an attendance of 125,000 spectators and expects that around 40 percent of that number will come from the various countries in Asia such as Singapore, China and the Philippines, where F1 racing has a following.

During the 2007 race, the circuit received a total number of 115,000 spectators—the highest ever achieved during the nine years of staging of the event since 1999. Organizers expect the figure to be broken with F1 fever gaining ground in Asia. China will host Round 16 on October 12 in Shanghai, while Japan will host Round 17 in Fuji on October 19. Singapore is the latest venue to be included on the F1 calendar and is scheduled to host Round 15 on September 28.

The series starts on March 16 in Melbourne followed by Sepang on March 23; Sakhir, Bahrain, on April 6; Barcelona, Spain, on April 27; Istanbul, Turkey, on May 11; Monte Carlo, Monaco, on May 25; Montreal, Canada, on June 8; Magny Cours, France, on June 22; Silverstone,Great Britain, on July 6; Hockenheim, Germany, on July 20; Budapest, Hungary, on August 3; Valencia, Spain, on August 24; Monza, Italy, on September 7; Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, on September 14; and São Paulo, Brazil, on November 2.

Aside from the Malaysian Grand Prix, SIC is also hosting four other action-packed events such as the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia; Formula BMW Asia, the Speedcar Series (a sports car series featuring ex-F1 drivers in 600-bhp stock cars); and the GP2 Asia (the Asian edition of the series that saw the emergence of current F1 drivers Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton).

Now serving as the second of 18-leg world championship series, whose defending champion is Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, the Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix was first won by Ferrari’s Eddie Irvine in its inaugural run in 1999. He was followed by Michael Schumacher who took rare back-to-back wins in 2000 and 2001, while the other champions include Williams’s Ralf Schumacher in 2002, McLaren-Mercedes’s Kimi Raikkonen in 2004, Michael Schumacher again in 2004, Renault’s Fernando Alonso in 2005 and 2007, and Renault’s Giancarlo Fisichela in 2006.

Meanwhile, Taiyab said the Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix is more than just a race for Malaysia since the country is being promoted internationally as a tourist destination. “The event will not only provide long-term benefits to tourism but also help us in our efforts to turn Malaysia into a regional hub for motorsports.”

He added that the Sepang International Circuit is closely working with Tourism Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur City Hall and the Ministry of Federal Territory to “turn Kuala Lumpur into a city of festivals for the event. The celebrations include concerts, parties, shopping sales, carnivals and more.”

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Malaysia revs up for F1 second leg

MALAYSIA will serve as the venue of top-class motorsports action when it hosts the second leg of the Formula One World Championship—the Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix—from March 21 to 23 at the 5.543-km Sepang International Circuit (SIC).