QUESTIONS on timing, safety and the future were raised after the 56-lap F1 Malaysia GP at the Sepang International Circuit was reduced to 32 laps by rain last week. M.K. MEGAN talks to SIC chairman Datuk Mokhzani Mahathir.
For Sepang International Circuit, it was back to the drawing board even before the wet tracks had fully dried.
Was there enough promotion, was adequate transport arranged for fans, was track safety compromised, were there adequate preparations to handle the rain...?
"After every race, we have discussions with F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone to see where we can improve," said SIC chairman Datuk Mokhzani Mahathir.
"The question of having the race earlier or at night will be finalised soon." This was the big question on the lips of many a fan when the race was stopped.
The F1 people were pushing for a night race to cater to European television audience. So the 5pm start, instead of the usual 3pm start, was a compromise.
"Last Sunday, the worst case scenario happened and we did what we had to do," said Mokhzani.
"According to our planning, the race starts at 5pm and ends at 6.45pm.
"The podium ceremony should be over by 7pm and the people can go for the (Jomiroquoi) concert."
According to Mokhzani, it had rained only twice during the race since the Malaysian GP was first held in 1999 -- last Sunday and in 2000.
The race last Sunday was halted for one-and-a-half hours after just 32 laps when the thunderstorm and downpour made conditions too dangerous.
The race could not resume because the organisers had run out of daylight.
Mokhzani said that having a night race would only satisfy the European television audience but it would make no difference when it comes to weather.
Mokhzani said should the race next year be held at night, the high cost of fixing floodlights -- about RM30 million ($12.6 million) -- was not a problem.
"We can recover the cost by renting out the track for other events.
"In fact, it had cost over RM300 million to build the track and we have recovered the amount."
Asked if the rain could have been averted through cloud seeding, Mokhzani said many things were possible.
"But rain is beyond our control."
Should SIC have hired a bomoh to keep the rain away? "Rain is the work of mother nature," he said.
That SIC will continue to host the F1 race despite last week's disruption of the event due to heavy rain, is not in question, because there is an iron-clad contract that says Malaysia hosts a race every year until 2015.
"But we are working out other things to make the F1 race in Malaysia a permanent feature.
"It is already a part of our tourism event and we want to promote Malaysia through the F1 race."
Mokhzani dismissed allegations that there was not much publicity this year compared with previous years.
"The teams did their own promotions with posters and banners all over the city and we did our own.
"We took the promotion to outside the city.
"The teams and SIC complement each other when it came to the promotion of the sport.
"We have to promote smartly and intelligently and not advertise for the sake of advertising."
Although promotion was at a satisfactory level, Mokhzani admitted SIC could have been a little late in promoting aggressively.
Fan support this year was 80,000 compared with 130,000 last year but Mokhzani said this was not because of any lack of promotion or the race starting at 5pm.
"This was because of the economic slowdown.
"After every race, we analyse and find ways to improve any shortcomings, including the effect of the economic slowdown.
"We find there is still room for improvement in aspects of promotion and transport.
"We are working towards offering a full package to all those involved in the race."
Whether the race would be held at 3pm or at night, Mokhzani said it would come back to square one.
"What if it rains at 3pm? And what if it rains at night?
"The raindrops would reflect the floodlights which would in turn affect the visibility of the drivers.
"And then again there were objections to holding the race at night because they wanted the skyline to be visible during racing.
"How will the skyline be visible if we have the race at night?
