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Hard to open wallets for Malaysian Grand Prix

SEPANG — A decade ago, it cost RM70 (S$26) for a 55km taxi ride from Kuala Lumpur to Sepang during the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend. Now that the flag-down rate has been upped by RM1 to RM3, taxi drivers are being forced to run their meters and it costs about RM130.

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen in action during practice at the Malaysian Grand Prix. Malaysia is not the only venue grappling with low crowd numbers. Photo: Reuters

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen in action during practice at the Malaysian Grand Prix. Malaysia is not the only venue grappling with low crowd numbers. Photo: Reuters

SEPANG — A decade ago, it cost RM70 (S$26) for a 55km taxi ride from Kuala Lumpur to Sepang during the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend. Now that the flag-down rate has been upped by RM1 to RM3, taxi drivers are being forced to run their meters and it costs about RM130.

In the intervening period, too, fuel prices have spiked between 45 and 65 per cent.

Besides the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, a few hotels that support it, and a small number of kampungs nearby, the Sepang International Circuit is almost secluded.

All these factors have conspired to make it difficult to convince Malaysians to open their wallets for F1 tickets that cost between RM80 and RM1,770.

But Malaysia is not the only venue grappling with low crowd numbers.

Earlier this week, Nurburgring, which alternates with Hockenheim to host the German Grand Prix, decided not to take its turn hosting this year’s edition because of dwindling crowds.

British Grand Prix organisers at Silverstone, which sells among the costliest tickets in F1, pushed down prices for their July 5 race to make hosting Formula 1 sustainable for fans, and the result was a 30 per cent jump in sales.

They are also turning the race from a three-day festival to a four-day one with more entertainment.

The model that F1 followers usually hold up is the Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix, which packages the event with top-quality shows. As it is held in the heart of the city, it is also easily accessible.

This is a key factor as to whether a race is successful or a failure, said Mudzaffar Tunku Mustapha, president of the Automobile Association of Malaysia, which sanctions all motorsport in the country.

“In Sepang’s case, the government can do more to increase public transport to the circuit on race days to make it convenient for people to go to the circuit and return to the city,” Mudzaffar told TODAY.

“With the price of an F1 ticket, I can relax with my sarong at home and watch it on TV.”

But it should not be solely the onus of race organisers to think up ways to convince fans to part with a small fortune to watch an F1 race at their venues.

What they are able to do is limited to window dressing, staging top quality shows around a race and pricing it attractively enough to trigger a queue at the gates.

Delivering an attractive main course, which is the racing, is the responsibility of the teams, FIA and Formula One Management (FOM), the commercial rights holder of F1.

It was a topic of discussion at the paddock here yesterday, when team bosses were bombarded with questions from journalists on what they are doing to stop the Mercedes team from dominating every race and turning the sport into a boring procession as it was last year.

While assurances came from Red Bull and engine suppliers Renault it would be sooner, rather than later, that they would fight tooth and tail with the German world champions, another issue that needs to be addressed urgently is the falling TV viewership of F1.

This, ultimately, affects the gate receipts of race promoters.

According to Formula One’s Global Media Report last year, the sport lost 175 million viewers in the six years leading up to 2013 with a cumulative total of 450 million visitors left.

FOM boss Bernie Ecclestone has resisted selling live feeds to media websites, as it does not generate the kind of money TV does, which contributes a sizeable chunk of the more than US$1.6 billion (S$2.19 billion) F1 generates each year.

Fredrik Petersen, a veteran journalist who has travelled to every race since the 1970s, said investing in the Internet and social media is investing in the future. “There is a group of young people out there and many are tomorrow’s fan base with the money to afford F1 races,” said the Swede.

“If FOM does not cultivate them now, F1 will face a shrinking market and that will affect gate receipts as well.”

Malaysian Grand Prix on TV:

Today: Practice session 3 — Singtel TV Ch116 and StarHub TV Ch210 at 1.55pm; Qualifying — Singtel TV Ch116 and StarHub TV Ch210 at 4.30pm

Sunday: Main race — Singtel TV Ch114 and StarHub TV Ch208, 2.30pm

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