A night race at Sepang could boost Malaysia’s chances of returning to the Formula One calendar, with lighting technology available but financing remaining the biggest hurdle.
THE fumes from the Formula One cars have barely settled but Malaysians are now excited again about a potential return to the race calendar.
This time, it is not the government, organisers or rights holders that are talking about it. Instead, it is the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team and global lighting technology company Signify who have shown interest in aiding the return to the country and to the iconic circuit.
And we are not just talking about a return to the race calendar, but we are talking about returning to the calendar with a night race. And that just makes the potential return a lot more exciting.
The Sepang International Circuit has always been a huge challenge for teams and drivers’ thanks in part to the weather system. It is either very hot, very wet or a combination of both. But the prospect of turning it into a night race will add an entirely different dimension to the challenge.
Even the spectators would love it as that means they will not have to deal with the immense heat, though we do have to find a solution to the catastrophic traffic problem that fans recently faced.
However, I am confident that we can solve that as we already host MotoGP every year and there are never any traffic issues. So that isl just a small hurdle that we can fix.
There are two bigger hurdles though and one of them is lighting.
During a media briefing at the Singapore Grand Prix, Signify chief executive officer As Tempelman was quoted as saying that technological capability will not be a problem should Malaysia decide to organise a Formula One night race.
“I dare to say that technology will not be a constraint. So, we can fix that right? And we can, of course, if there were a night race in Malaysia, I’m sure we can find solutions. I have no doubt about it whatsoever,” he was quoted as saying.
Signify’s lighting technology is used to light up the Singapore and Las Vegas Formula One night races as well as the Formula E races in Saudi Arabia and in London. So, when it comes to lighting up a race venue, Signify is arguably the best at it.
The second hurdle though is a bigger challenge – financing. Even though we have spoken passionately about bringing Formula One back to Malaysia, we all know it is not going to be cheap.
Who will pay for Formula One to return to Malaysia? That’s a question mark for now, but if the Malaysian Grand Prix were a night race, it could potentially lure some big-name sponsors.
A night race in Malaysia will mean a bigger global audience as fans from Europe and the Americas could also tune in to watch the race. This effectively means more eyeballs for the race and there is nothing sponsors and advertisers love more than eyeballs on their brand.
So, a night race in Malaysia makes a lot of sense on all fronts. And with Formula One drivers already complaining about the lack of appeal that the Singaporean track has to offer from a race perspective, Sepang’s return makes more sense than ever before, especially as a night race.
