11.25.2007
As the fifth race in the 2006-07 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport calendar, competition will be hotting up by the time the A1 circus arrives in Malayisa. Said to be one of the most challenging drivers’ circuits in the world with a difficult and abrasive surface, Sepang will demand the most from the A1 drivers. Providing the background for arguably the most exciting race of the 2005-06 season, the stage is set for another thrilling race in season two.
A1 Team Malaysia will once again be racing in front of an enthusiastic home crowd in their bright yellow race car painted in the national colours of Malaysia, hoping to improve on Alex Yoong’s fifth place in the Feature race last year.
Built in a natural stadium, all spectators can see at least 50 per cent of the circuit no matter where they sit, making the A1 race in Malaysia, one of the best races to see the A1 cars in action. Just 60km south of Kuala Lumpur, fans can also visit the attractions of one of the most interesting cities in Asia, including the Petronas Twin Towers, one of the tallest buildings in the world.
CIRCUIT HISTORY
Sepang International Circuit was officially opened on 9 March 1999 by Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. It was then, and still is a benchmark for other motorsport venues around the world. Designed by the renowned German engineer Hermann Tilke, the track was built in just 14 months. At its peak, 1000 people were working on the site. The Sepang International Circuit consists of three circuits in one. The main racetrack is 5.54km with the South Track being 2.7km and the North Track 2.8km. The latter was the final one to be completed and hosted its first official race in July 2003. It is the main track that A1 races on.
Former World Champion Michael Schumacher had a hand the track’s design, and the circuit hosted its first Formula One race in September 1999 – won by Eddie Irvine for Ferrari. A1 arrived in Sepang in November 2005, for its first Asian event, where an enthusiastic crowd watched their local hero Alex Yoong race to an impressive fifth place finish.
The massive grandstands, with their beautiful overhanging canopies, designed to mimic the national flower of Malaysia seat 130,000 spectators. The main grandstand along the pit straight can seat 32,000 alone.
At the heart of the circuit, facing the main grandstand is the pit building. The largest in the world, which faces the main grandstand. It contains 30 pit garages, 12 official offices for the FIA and race organisers, race control, time keeping, media centre, photographers’ room and medical centre. The track is also electronically linked through a network of fibre optic cabling system, along the track to 27 closed circuit TV cameras, which is centrally monitored at the Race Control Room.
COUNTRY INFORMATION
Situated in South East Asia, Malaysia is actually made up of two geographical regions divided by the South China Sea. West Malaysia on the Malay peninsula shares a land border to the north with Thailand and in the South with Singapore.
Britain first established a colony in the Malay peninsula in 1786, when the East India Company took control of the island of Penang. British presence in the area continued until the end of the twentieth century. During the early eighteenth century, the Malaya archipelago was split between the British and the Dutch with Malaya under British control. In 1826, Penang, Malacca and Singapore became part of the Crown Colony of the Straits Settlements, established by the British.
After World War II and the Japanese occupation, the support for independence inside Malaysia began to grow. In 1948, the Malayan Union, which consisted of all the British states, apart from Singapore, was replaced with the Federation of Malaya which restored the autonomy of the states, although they still fell under British protection.
The second half of the 1900s saw discontent in the country, as Chinese rebels launched guerrilla operations designed to force out the British. This led to the Malayan Emergency, a campaign which lasted from 1948 to 1960 as Commonwealth troops struggled to control the situation. Independence of the Federation was finally granted in 1957.
In 1963, the new Federation was expanded to include the previously British territories of Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak, and became known as Malaysia, although Singapore exited in 1965.
The economic history of Malay, the Malay states, Malayan Union and Malaysia has seen prosperity and recession. Benefiting from a strong trading position between China and the Middle East, the area enjoyed a high level of trade. During the 1970s, Malaysia began to develop its economy and moved away from the traditional markets of mining and agriculture towards manufacturing. The growth of the Malaysian economy and of its physical landscape accelerated in the 1980s and 1990s as the country consistently achieved more than seven per cent growth in GDP at this time. Large projects such as the Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Sepang F1 Circuit, demonstrated Malaysia’s new found prosperity.
The Asian Financial Crisis in 1997, dealt a huge blow to the Malaysian economy, and many analysts argue that the country is still recovering. Foreign investment fell as capital flowed out of the country and the value of the ringgit dropped from MYR 2.50 per USD to MYR 4.80 per USD. A dramatic increase in electronic component exports, to the US especially, helped boost the economy and hasten the country’s recovery. Other primary exports include natural rubber and palm oil while tin and petroleum are the two main mineral resources.
The Malaysian population stands at over 24,000,000 million and comprises many ethnic groups, with the politically dominant Malay, making up the majority. All Malaysians are Muslims by constitutional definition, as a person has to be Muslim to be legally Malaysian under Malaysian law. However, the country is a multi-religious and multi-ethnic country, approximately a quarter of the population are Chinese and approximately 10 per cent of the population are of Indian decent.
LOCAL INFORMATION
Time zone: GMT + 8
Airport: Kuala Lumpur International Airport
Currency: Malaysian Ringgit
Average November temperature: 79F
Average November rainfall: 11.1 inches
CIRCUIT INFORMATION
Location : Selangor, 60km south of Kuala Lumpur
Track length : 5.54 km / 3.44 miles
No. turns : 15
No. laps : Sprint race: 15, Feature race: 30
Direction : Clockwise
Lap record 1: 34.223, recorded by Juan Pablo Montoya in a BMW Williams Formula 1 car in 2004.
Address : Sepang International Circuit Sdn. Bhd., Jalan Pekeliling, 64000 KLIA, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia |