Malaysia has enough experienced personnel for F1 race, accreditation renewed yearly – MAM president Mokhzani

Motorsports Association of Malaysia (MAM) president Tan Sri Mokhzani Mahathir has said Malaysia is not short on manpower or experienced marshals to handle Formula 1 races. This is because the accreditation process for sports officials in the country is renewed every year, meaning the availability of technical personnel has always been at the best level despite 2017 being the last time the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) held a Formula 1 race.

“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,” Mokhzani said, as reported by Bernama.

Ahead of the upcoming Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia set to take place on the weekend of October 2-4, MAM is coordinating the implementation of all regulations and standards set by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA). These include ensuring that safety aspects, circuit readiness, participants and spectators are complied with before the race.

“Actually, SIC is well-maintained even though there is no F1. So, all the events other than F1, like 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,” said Mokhzani.

Mokhzani also described the event as an extraordinary opportunity for Malaysia because the main cost of organising is borne by Bahrain. “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.