SIC REVS UP TO WELCOME FANS BACK TO PETRONAS GRAND PRIX OF MALAYSIA

The 23rd edition of the longest-running international motorsports event, PETRONAS GRAND PRIX OF MALAYSIA 2022 happening on the 21 – 23 October was officially launched at the Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS by the Minister of Youth and Sports (KBS), Yang Berhormat Dato’ Seri Ahmad Faizal bin Dato’ Azumu today.

The 23rd edition of the Malaysian Grand Prix marks PETRONAS’ debut as title sponsor having reached an agreement with MotoGP™ rights holder, Dorna Sports earlier this year. The Sepang International Circuit (SIC) also announced Malaysian rider, Syarifuddin Azman (Damok), has been granted a wildcard entry in the Moto3™ World Championship. The 21-year-old is currently ranked second in the FIM JuniorGP™ championship standings.

Chief Executive Officer of SIC, Azhan Shafriman Hanif said, “This year marks the first year of PETRONAS as the Title Sponsor for the Grand Prix. SIC is all set to #WelcomeHome all the local and international motorsports fans to Sepang after two years hiatus due to COVID-19 pandemic and we will ensure the quality of Malaysia Grand Prix is at the highest level.”

“With no Malaysian riders competing full season in the Championship, I believe Damok will be the pull factor for Malaysians to cheer fellow Malaysian on the grid,” added Shafriman.

PETRONAS Senior General Manager of Group Strategic Communications, Datin Anita Azrina Abdul Aziz, commented, “PETRONAS is excited to see the return of MotoGP to Malaysia and it gives us great pride to headline the event, as the championship is synonymous with passion, innovation, pace and performance – values that resonates well with PETRONAS. As such, to celebrate the occasion, PETRONAS has lined up a series of thrilling family-friendly experiences on and off the track, including around KLCC which will be announced in due course.”

“The Grand Prix title sponsorship offers an opportunity for PETRONAS brand to grow and help re- energise Malaysia’s sports tourism and provides a unique platform for us to showcase PETRONAS Primax – the Official Fuel for the Moto2 and Moto3 championships – to the world,” she added.

Special off-track activities for fans starts with the pre-event on Wednesday race week i.e; Public Cooking Contest showcasing talented MotoGP™ riders in Pavilion Kuala Lumpur. The ever-popular race weekend activities i.e; the Public Pit Lane Walk and Riders’ Autograph Session will take place on 21 October 2022 where fans can get up close and personal with their favourite riders.

Fans can anticipate getting their hands on special merchandise items to take home at the much-awaited Mega MotoGP™ Carnival with over 100 renowned brands and the Night Track Tour experience on Friday, 21 October to Saturday, 22 October 2022 is back on sale.

This year, SIC is proud to be FIRST Grand Prix to present a new lifestyle experience and a curated festival feel that combines local food and culture, outdoor, live music, art installations and unique activations under one roof. The interesting catch for this year is the #MalaysianGP2022 Mega Lucky Draw contest where two lucky winners will win Yamaha NVX and Y15ZR bikes with SIC limited-edition livery worth RM22,000.

In conjunction with Merdeka Day, SIC is running a special promotion available starting today up to 31 August 2022 and the tickets can be purchased on www.sepangcircuit.com.

** Editor’s note:

SIC has choosen Visiontrack Racing as the team where Syarifuddin (Damok) will have his wildcard ride after discussion with various stakeholders including previous Moto3 star Zulfahmi Khairuddin who is now SIC Racing Team manager.

On SIC expectation of Damok, Shafriman added that they are hopping for a Top 10 finish this October. “This is his (Damok) home ground where he has spent countless hours testing and racing on it. Also with the fact that he will have Malaysian supporting him on that day, there shouldn’t be any reason for him not to do well”.

However during the same press conference,  PETRONAS Senior General Manager of Group Strategic Communications, Datin Anita Azrina Abdul Aziz, added that she was actually hoping for a Top 5 position. But both Datin Anita and Shafriman did looked at and told Damok – “No pressure”!

Telling a young, up and coming wildcard racer  “No pressure” is an understatement but we hope the youngster will take that pressure to perform above expectations.