A guide to the Sepang Grand Prix Circuit
The Malaysian Grand Prix is perhaps the ultimate realisation of one man's dream to show case his country's emerging muscle in the automotive industry. In the mid 1990s the then Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, ordered that a circuit be built that would envy the world and attract F1 to his country. At the time, a multimedia 'super-corridor', linking Kuala Lumpur's new international airport with the capital, was being built and the nation's number one oil company, Petronas, began investing heavily in Formula One with Sauber. Furthermore Malaysia's national car company, Proton, had recently bought Lotus Engineering, adding further incentive for Malaysia to join the ranks of other prestigious F1 hosts.
Sepang, the resulting track, turned out to be one the driver's favourites, featuring a combination of long high-speed straights, and tight twisting complexes, but with a wide track to encourage overtaking.
The circuit is 5.53kms long and the race consists of 56 laps for a total distance of 310kms, driving clockwise. The fastest ever recorded lap was in 2004 by Juan Pablo Montoya, clocking up a blistering 1 minute, 34.223 seconds. There are 15 turns on this odd-shaped circuit offering five left and 10 right bends, and there are eight straights with the longest being 928m, while the average track width is 16m.
The track has also been custom built for the fans, with the track sandwiching a long back-to-back grandstand area along the two main straights. Eight gates make it easy for the 80,000 crowd to enter the grounds and the grandstands have a capacity for 30,000 spectators.
Despite hosting a number of local car and bike races throughout the year, the track remains available to the general public most Sundays, when you may test your vehicle on the track for a fee.
The Mall area, sandwiched between the two straights offers the best and most expensive seats in upper and lower tiers. The grand stands located inside the circuit are also popular, while the cheap seats are located on the Hillstand, which also has a covered area. There is also a corporate stand and tower area. All main grandstand areas are well serviced by facilities that include toilets, refreshments and assistance for the disabled spectator.