Teknologi: Tun Mahathir tries out Sepang circuit’s night lights in a Ferrari – return of Formula One likely not happening

Teknologi: August 2, 2018 at 04:59AM

Seated behind the wheel of a red Ferrari 458 Spider, prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad officiated the launch of the new lighting system for the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) by taking it out for a lap around the track.

"I don't usually drive Ferraris. When you press slightly on the pedal the car just shoots forward and makes a nice sound. The lights were very nice and quite clear but the flashing lights of the car ahead of me were very distracting," he said in a report by The Star.

Nonetheless, the premiere was left impressed by the circuit's new night lights, which could potentially bring in more revenue for SIC and encourage the development of motorsports in the country. Tun Mahathir initially thought the idea of adding lights to the circuit would be too difficult and costly to be implemented.

"The circuit is still thriving and the people running it have lots of ideas. I think exciting things are awaiting Malaysians. I'm glad to see the people running it have ideas to enlarge it, add more facilities and more sports so that it can become a motor city and everyone interested in motoring and engineering can come here and learn how to move forward in this field," he said.

In 1999, Tun Mahathir inaugurated both the first MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix as well as the Formula One Malaysian Grand Prix. When asked if the latter could make a return in the future after previous prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced Malaysia will stop hosting F1 races from 2018 onwards, the prime minister merely replied with a 'maybe', as reported by Bernama.

He also noted that the lighting system would not fit the requirements of F1, but would be sufficient for normal races. "If for the F1, the lighting must be much brighter because the present brightness is not bright enough. It will make it difficult to carry out broadcasting work," said Mahathir.

However, any hope of F1 making a return to Malaysia was dashed by youth and sports minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman who said the government will continue to focus on two-wheel motorsport events.

"Cabinet has decided to move away from F1 and focus on two-wheeled sports instead, including MotoGP and other superbike races. F1, it is costly, and we know it has diminishing marginal returns," said Syed Saddiq, who added that the financial resources needed for a F1 event would be better spent developing the Sepang circuit further.

The post Tun Mahathir tries out Sepang circuit's night lights in a Ferrari – return of Formula One likely not happening appeared first on Paul Tan's Automotive News.

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