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Wednesday September 23, 2009

Malaysian Grand Prix race in Sepang to start at 4pm

By LIM TEIK HUAT

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia will be the hosts of the third round of the Formula One World Championship next year and the International Automobile Federation (FIA) have also given their approval for the race to start at 4pm.

The championship next year will have 19 rounds, the most number ever in the series. And Bahrain will stage the season-opener from March 12-14.

Melbourne, who traditionally kick off the season, will now host the second round two weeks later before the circus gathers in Sepang from April 2-4.

The Sepang International Circuit (SIC) chief executive officer, Razlan Razali, welcomed the new starting time, saying they had proposed for it to be reviewed in light of what happened to the race in April this year.

Wash out: Next year’s F1 race will be held at 4pm to minimise the problem of diminishing sunlight and tropical downpour.

“It gives us more time to plan for any contingencies. If anything, a 5pm start time provides for a small margin of error. Again, nobody can control the weather and we have to hope that everything turns out well,” he said.

The race this year began at 5pm in a move by the F1 decision makers to attract bigger television audiences in Europe but it turned out to be a frustrating experience for the organisers and fans in Sepang.

The drivers were unable to complete the race, which was red-flagged after 32 of the scheduled 56 laps when a tropical downpour and diminishing sunlight made conditions too dangerous for the competition to continue.

On Malaysia hosting the third round, Razlan felt there would not be much of a difference compared to previous years.

“But as the third round, we will get a better idea of the performance of the teams towards the rest of the season,” he said.

“It’s going to be an exciting Malaysian GP for us next year as we will also be looking at the progress of our own team (1MalaysiaF1).”

Razlan added that it was no surprise that South Korea would make their debut as organisers in the 16th round from Oct 15-17, making them the seventh Asian country to do so.

“Formula One is reaching out to a global audience and despite what many say about the current economic situation, many countries are keen to host an F1 event,” he said.

Canada were excluded from a 17-round calender this year. But they will make a return next year as hosts of the the seventh round from June 11-13.

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