Formula One out of SEA: Malaysia to pull out after 2018, Singapore 2017
9 replies, posted
[QUOTE]KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—Malaysia will stop hosting Formula One Grand Prix races once its contract ends in 2018 and will give way to Motorcycle GrandPrix, tourism minister Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said Monday.The International Automobile Federation, the governing body of motor sport, wasn’t immediately available for comment.
“I think the people have lost interest (on F1),” Mr. Nazri said after his session at the parliament in Malaysia’s capital. “However, if MotoGP is scrapped next year, it will affect our tourism badly.”
He said Malaysia has spent 300 million ringgit ($67.93 million) annually on hosting F1 but failed to get the same amount in return.
In October, Malaysia Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin expressed his support for a stop to the country’s hosting F1 races. On [URL="http://quotes.wsj.com/TWTR"]Twitter[/URL], [URL="https://twitter.com/khairykj/status/790496935475945472"]he cited[/URL] declining ticket sales and TV viewership figures as well as foreign visitors having the choices of attending races in China, the Middle East and Singapore.
Malaysia’s decision comes after F1 Chief Executive Bernie Ecclestone’s interview Sunday with German magazine Auto Motor und Sport, in which he said Malaysia neighbor Singapore doesn’t want to host F1 Grand Prix any longer amid flagging interest.
Singapore Grand Prix couldn’t be reached for comment Monday.
If Malaysia and Singapore stop hosting F1 events, Southeast Asia would be without any F1 races for the first time since 1998.[/QUOTE]
[url]http://www.wsj.com/articles/malaysia-to-stop-hosting-formula-one-after-2018-1479743981[/url]
[QUOTE]Bernie Ecclestone says [URL="http://www.cnbc.com/singapore/"]Singapore[/URL] won't extend its deal to host the Formula 1 when the deal runs out in 2017, according to an interview the motorsports billionaire did with a German publication.Motorsport.com wrote that Ecclestone told Germany's Auto Motor Und Sport on Sunday that "there is no gratitude" in Formula 1, referring to auto-makers and organisers who he said dropped the franchise once it had served its purpose.
"Look at what we have done for Singapore," Ecclestone said, according to Motorsport.com's translation of the German-language report. "Yes, the Grand Prix has cost Singapore a lot of money, but we've also given them a lot of money."
"Singapore was suddenly more than just an airport to fly to or from somewhere. Now they believe they have reached their goal and they do not want a grand prix anymore."[/QUOTE]
[url]http://www.cnbc.com/2016/11/20/singapores-2017-f1-grand-prix-will-be-last-one-says-bernie-ecclestone.html[/url]
Can't say I'll miss the tracks. RAces there were boring as hell, no overtaking all pit strategy. Shame about all the tourism money that's gone up in smoke, though.
F1 has gone downhill anyways.
It's all "safety this" and "safety that".
Racing isn't about safety.
The racers wouldn't be racing if they cared that much about safety.
[QUOTE=Marbalo;51409729]Aren't all F1 races these days boring as hell, though? Because of the massive amount of new regulations and H&S standards that basically dull out the 'racing' part in F1. Also computer-assisted driving and all that.
Then again my knowledge of F1 starts and ends with the Senna documentary so what do I know.[/QUOTE]
'Dull out' as in getting rid of bloody thirsty supporters? I'm more interested in the engineering of the cars and how the drivers can utilize that, F1 is still super exciting for me
Malaysian attendance F1 went drastically down after they switched over to the V6. You have to remember that most people go there to absorb in the atmosphere and the good vibrations that was caused by the V8 and V10s. If they just wanted to see the race they can just watch it on TV from home. When the switch to V6 was made people just stopped coming because its not the same anymore.
Another factor is the ticket prices. While the Malaysian GP had the cheapest tickets, a weekend ticket for the MY GP was still on average $185.Which is not affordable by the national income standards. Moto GP which is still going strong for reference costs $30 and you get the main grandstand. They can't depend on tourism either, with tourist flocking over to more touristic destinations like Abu Dhabi.
[QUOTE=Marbalo;51409729]Aren't all F1 races these days boring as hell, though? Because of the massive amount of new regulations and H&S standards that basically dull out the 'racing' part in F1. Also computer-assisted driving and all that.
Then again my knowledge of F1 starts and ends with the Senna documentary so what do I know.[/QUOTE]
The recent Brazilian GP was pretty good imo due to rain mixing things up. Max Verstappen has become someone to look out for since he manage to overtake his way from 16th place to 3rd in a relatively short period of time. And he's only 19!
[video=youtube;W0mjXuLWMkg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0mjXuLWMkg[/video]
[QUOTE=Marbalo;51409729]Aren't all F1 races these days boring as hell, though? Because of the massive amount of new regulations and H&S standards that basically dull out the 'racing' part in F1. Also computer-assisted driving and all that.
Then again my knowledge of F1 starts and ends with the Senna documentary so what do I know.[/QUOTE]
Evidently nothing. The regulations and bernies management have turned the series dull for a lot of people. F1 has almost always been a very corporate/business affair, but its been feeling less and less like a sport for a good while now.
The regulations are just a victim of the sports evolution, but bernie is inexcusable, the FIA are also a bit of a joke these days, a joke that doesnt know when the stop
[QUOTE=rampageturke 2;51410502]Evidently nothing. The regulations and bernies management have turned the series dull for a lot of people. F1 has almost always been a very corporate/business affair, but its been feeling less and less like a sport for a good while now.
The regulations are just a victim of the sports evolution, but bernie is inexcusable, the FIA are also a bit of a joke these days, a joke that doesnt know when the stop[/QUOTE]
Its basically become golf, people go to events to talk business
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