KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is not facing a shortage of manpower or experienced marshals to handle Formula One (F1) races, as the accreditation process for sports officials in the country is renewed every year.
Motorsports Association of Malaysia (MAM) president Tan Sri Mokhzani Mahathir said that although the last time Sepang hosted F1 was in 2017, the availability of technical personnel has always been at the best level.
"There are many experienced people in Malaysia. We will authorise who can be a marshal but if there is a shortage, we will bring in lecturers or experienced people to give a refresher course to all SIC officials," he said when contacted by Bernama.
He said MAM's role at present is to coordinate the implementation of all regulations and standards set by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) including ensuring that safety aspects, circuit readiness, participants and spectators are complied with before an F1 race can be organised.
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"Actually, this SIC is well-maintained even though there is no F1. So all the events other than F1, MotoGP and so on ensure that the Sepang Circuit is at a good level. Maintenance is very good. So using it for F1 is not difficult and there is time," he said.
Mokhzani also described the re-organisation of F1 this time as an "extraordinary opportunity" for Malaysia because the main cost of organising is borne by Bahrain.
"The current opportunity is an extraordinary opportunity. Because a large part of the costs needed for F1 is paid by the other party, we are just the hosts.
"The cost is indeed high for them (Bahrain) but we will just host the event. This opportunity came suddenly. We must ensure that SIC is ready to be a very good host for Bahrain because they have shown their trust in us," he said.
Earlier, F1 confirmed Malaysia as the host of the Bahrain GP following an agreement reached between F1, the FIA and the Malaysian and Bahraini governments.
The event, scheduled to be held at SIC from Oct 2 to 4, will retain its original name as the F1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, subject to final approval and formal approval, including from the World Motor Sport Council.
The agreement allows the Bahrain GP to remain on the 2026 F1 calendar after the race was cancelled earlier this season due to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
Malaysia previously hosted the Malaysia GP in Sepang from 1999 to 2017 before the race was dropped from the F1 calendar. - Bernama
