Sepang prepares for the night race

The Sepang circuit in Malaysia will be ready to host a night race next year, the circuit officials have declared. A month ago, they acknowledged that the idea was interesting to highlight their Grand Prix.

Mokhzani Mahathir, the president of the Sepang circuit, told the New Straits Times that discussions were underway to equip the 5.542 km circuit on the outskirts of the city.

Singapore will be in the spotlight in September as the city-state will host the first night Grand Prix on an urban circuit.

« We are studying and seeking the best system because there is no single standard system that can illuminate all races. The system must be custom-made for the Sepang circuit, » stated Mokhzani.

We are now in discussions with companies that offer such systems.

The F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone has encouraged Asian circuits to become night events in the interest of European fans. The latter, due to the time difference, have to get up at night to watch the Grand Prix on television.

Three races are currently taking place on Asian soil with the Malaysian, Japanese, and Chinese Grand Prix. The Australian Grand Prix will kick off the season on March 16.

Mokhzani added that Sepang will use a different lighting system than the one used by Singapore, which is an urban circuit.

In Singapore, 3.2 million watts and 108,423 meters of cable will be needed for the race to take place under favorable conditions. The energy deployed will be four times greater than that used for floodlights in football stadiums.

Mokhzani hopes to appeal to Malaysian companies.

« We have also studied the impact of using these lighting technologies on the circuit and have concluded that they will help generate higher revenues than what we are currently making, » he concluded.