Sepang wants to become a year-round tourist attraction
Sepang was the first Southeast Asian circuit to appear on the F1 calendar in 1999. But now, many neighboring competitors have emerged, overshadowing it. The management has therefore decided to implement a comprehensive development plan to make it a full-fledged tourist attraction, usable throughout the year.
Currently, the two main events at the Sepang circuit are the F1 race and the MotoGP race, which account for two weeks of full occupancy per year. The single-seaters can attract up to 100,000 spectators, while there are “only” between 30,000 and 50,000 pairs of eyes to witness the exploits of Casey Stoner or Valentino Rossi.
Razlan Razali, the CEO of Sepang International Circuit (SIC), revealed his development plans to our Malaysian colleagues at The Star: «We have a plan to transform the SIC into a daily destination. We want to build a hotel, a commercial and entertainment area, a duty-free zone, as well as educational buildings within the circuit grounds.» The logic behind constructing a hotel on the circuit is that it would eliminate the relatively significant distance between Kuala Lumpur and Sepang. It would serve both professional teams and private enthusiasts who visit the circuit for private sessions. «On a typical race day, racing fans could watch the race while their family goes shopping and their children can enjoy the entertainment facilities.»
If these projects have been in the pipeline for some time already, there is still work to be done before all these elements are realized, mainly because of the economic dimension of the project, as President Mokhzani Mahathir acknowledges: « We have been talking about this plan for some time, but we need to ensure that the private sector is interested. Circuits around the world are changing their business model to become more like amusement parks than just a place for car racing. The idea is to promote it as an entertainment destination. There is still work to be done. »
Many examples around the world
It is true that more and more circuits are adopting this commercial strategy in order to attract a much more diverse audience than just the hardcore motorsport fans. The first to adopt such a strategy was the Suzuka circuit, which has its own amusement park, Motopia, with the most obvious sign being the Ferris wheel visible in the background of the races. The reason that led the circuit to create this type of infrastructure is that it is one of only two in the world (along with Silverstone) not to receive any public subsidies since it is owned by Honda. Therefore, it was vital for the circuit to be profitable in order to maintain its operation.
Unsurprisingly, Silverstone has also chosen this approach as its owner, the BRDC, has implemented a vast development plan since last year with the addition of infrastructures more oriented towards tourism around motor sports than simply on the circuit. This could even lead to granting a long-term lease to an external investor (Qatar is said to be in exclusive talks) to secure the necessary funds for the rapid completion of the work.
Another development axis was chosen by the Abu Dhabi circuit. In this case, the circuit could fully benefit from the government’s petrodollars to satisfy its wildest ambitions. In addition to the construction of the circuit itself, which amounts to over a billion dollars, the leaders were also able to take advantage of the state fund being a shareholder of Ferrari to achieve the construction of the first theme park entirely dedicated to the Prancing Horse, Ferrari World. This helped elevate the international aura of the capital of the United Arab Emirates, which was then in the shadow of its neighbor, Dubai.
Have a national championship
Sepang also aims to ensure its development and the audience of its races through the creation of a national single-seater championship to provide a launch platform for young local talents: «We do not have a national single-seater championship. We have the Asian championship through the JK Asia Racing Series, but we should have a national championship. That way, when a Malaysian driver appears on the international scene, they can adapt or be competitive.»
Nevertheless, the crux of the matter remains money, and Razlan Razali believes that it can only come from the private sector and not the government: «There are many Malaysian drivers on the local scene who are sponsored. They start being sponsored as teenagers, but when they rise through the ranks and compete at a regional level, it ends, and the sponsorship stops. I understand that now everything must have a return on investment, but to be a sponsor, you need to provide these kids with better media exposure on a global level. If not in F1, perhaps in GP2 or GP3. Many Malaysian companies are either regional or global. They just need to understand that sponsoring motorsports is as effective as sponsoring badminton, tennis, or golf.»
This is the strategy currently being used in India with the entry of the world’s second most populous country into the F1 calendar. Force India has therefore set up a competition aimed at training an Indian driver to reach the pinnacle of global motorsport.
With the participation of RacingBusiness.fr
