The SIC’s contract to host the prestigious motorcycling event ends this year, but chief executive officer Datuk Razlan Razali said the Shell Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix from Oct 28-30 will not be the last for local fans to watch the likes of Italian Valentino Rossi and Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo.
“We have proposed to (event promoter) Dorna for a five-year extension. Normally, it’s a three-year deal. But the surge in interest in Malaysia has impressed Dorna.
“The championship is definitely going to continue in Malaysia,” said Razlan at Monday’s official launch of the Malaysia Grand Prix, the 17th and penultimate leg of the championship.
Last year, the three-day Malaysian leg attracted more than 150,000 fans, making it one of the top five most attended races in the championship.
“We had a record-breaking sell-out event last season. For this year, we are confident of another high turnout. Our target is to sell all the grandstand tickets by early next month,” said Razlan. There is also added excitement for the local fans this time with the emergence of Moto3 rider Khairul Idham Pawi.
To date, the 17-year-old rookie has won two races. He became the first Malaysian to ever win a race in the championship by winning the Argentina Grand Prix in March. The Honda Asia Team rider showed the win was no fluke by winning the German Grand Prix in July.
Besides Khairul, Malaysia also have two other representatives - Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah (Moto2) and Adam Norrodin (Moto3) – in the 18-leg championship.
“Khairul and Adam will not be short of support when they race here. Hafizh is also going great guns, having come close to finishing on the podium at Silverstone on Sunday (Hafizh was placed fourth in the British Grand Prix).
“I can’t imagine how the crowd will response if we have a Malaysian standing on the podium for Moto2 and Moto3 this year,” said Razlan.
