End of racing in Malaysia at 5:00 PM?

On this Sunday, April 5th, after a chaotic Malaysian Grand Prix that started at 5:00 PM, it might well be that this event, with its start time, is the first and last. The concept being a race schedule considered at ‘twilight’.

The new Prime Minister, as well as the head of the Sepang circuit, have stated that the race time will be quickly re-evaluated for next year and beyond. This move might take the form of negotiations with FOM (Formula One Management). This year and just a few hours ago, weather and lighting forced the complete stoppage of the race.

« In the future, we will try to have a different schedule, maybe earlier, » said Najib Razak in Sepang.

« There are also possibilities for night racing, but we need to look into the costs before embarking on this project. »

Like in Australia a week ago, Malaysia has adopted this concept of a ‘twilight’ race for this season, with the race start set at 5:00 PM to reach a larger audience in Europe.

But this hour in Kuala Lumpur often coincides with torrential rains, while sunset in this region is quite early in the evening.

« I had a discussion with Bernie earlier and we are going to review this race schedule, » added circuit director Mokhzani Mahathir just a few hours after the complete interruption of the Grand Prix due to rain and low light on the track.

« The start time for the race in 2010 is therefore not certain, and we will review the calendar for next year. »