KUALA LUMPUR: More than 50 per cent of tickets for the Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix (GP) 2022 have been sold with just a week left before the action starts at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) from Oct 21-23.

SIC chief executive officer Azhan Shafriman Hanif said ticket sales, which were quite slow previously, started to pick up after the launch of the 23rd edition of the Malaysian GP and the announcement that national rider Syarifuddin Azman, who is more fondly known as Damok, had received a wildcard ticket to race with Vision Track Racing Team in the Moto3 category.

Azham Shafriman said although SIC faced certain challenges, they will still work hard to ensure the targeted 170,000 spectators can be achieved to equal the attendance registered when the Malaysian GP was last held in 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

"We expect the same number of spectators but, at the moment, I think it's (going to be) quite a challenge to achieve that target... we have one more week to go and we are working hard to sell the tickets.

"So far, we are nearing the 170,000 mark, just that this year's challenges - it's a long weekend, (we) expect a lot of people to take time off to go back to their home towns. Apart from that, the dissolution of Parliament and the naming of candidates will have an effect (on the crowd turnout)," he said at a virtual press conference today.


At the same time, Azhan Shafriman said the high cost of airline tickets could also be another factor that may deter overseas motorsports fans from travelling here, adding that the absence of nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi, who retired last season, had also affected ticket sales at most circuits, including the SIC.

"Without Rossi there and everything, there's a gap and it will take time to fill that gap. It's just that this year we have Damok in Moto3 and three other local riders competing in Moto2. So, we hope to attract more spectators to support our Malaysian boys," he said.

Earlier this month, Petronas, the main sponsor of the Malaysian GP, announced that Khairul Idham Pawi or better known as Super Kip, Kasma Daniel Kasmayuddin and Azroy Hakeem Anuar had been given wild card tickets to compete in the Moto2 class.

Meanwhile, Azhan Shafriman said the SIC would cooperate with the authorities to step up security measures to ensure the continued safety of everyone during the Malaysian GP and prevent incidents like the theft of the teams' components and equipment as happened during the 2019 edition.

"We have installed about 65 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras near the paddocks to ensure such things do not happen again," he said.

For the record, the ones most affected by the incidents were the Angel Nieto Team, who lost several replacement parts like front tyres, a complete set of shock absorbers and brakes for their Moto2 and Moto3 motorcycles.

The 2020 and 2021 Malaysian GPs were cancelled due to the global COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent travel restrictions.

-- BERNAMA