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Thursday November 5, 2009

Uncertainty over A1GP’s survival

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian round of the A1GP, scheduled to take place at the Sepang Circuit next month, has been postponed indefinitely amid uncertainties over the survival of the series.

Malaysia was scheduled to host the third-leg of the series from Dec 4-6 but the promoters, Carbon Worldwide, have notified Sepang International Circuit (SIC) of the postponement.

SIC media manager Irwan A. Rahman said they had not been informed of the new dates yet and “we are also waiting for further notification from the promoters”.

The A1GP was rocked by the cancellation of the season-opening round in Surfers Paradise, Australia, last month due to several unresolved issues.

According to media reports in recent weeks, the racing car developed for the international open-wheel series by Ferrari had to go back to the drawing board several times.

The world body for motorsports, FIA, deemed the cars unfit to race and ordered significant modifications that series organisers were incapable of carrying out before the opening round of the 2009-2010 season.

It was also reported that the organisers had financial problems as well, resulting in the logistics company contracted to ship the cars to race venues around the world holding the cars as “ransom” for payment.

The series has run for four seasons and it would be a pity to see it go as the Malaysian-leg looked to have gained a following of its own.

The race held last November saw its biggest crowd of more than 40,000.

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