SIC hopes to organise the Malaysian MotoGP round at full attendee capacity

The Sepang International Circuit is planning to organise the 2022 Malaysian MotoGP round in October and they're hoping that they can do so with all the fans on deck. That's 100% capacity which translates to around 150,000 attendees in the course of three days, but SIC's CEO, Azhan Shafriman, stated that there are a few hurdles to overcome before that is possible.

We sat down with him to ask a few questions regarding the matter, and his reply towards the possibility of organising a MotoGP round at Sepang boils down on when the Malaysian government will announce their COVID-19 battle into the endemic stage. All proposals have been submitted, and the results will hopefully be promising in the coming months.

SIC currently concluded successful pre-season testing for the MotoGP circus yesterday by employing a strict travel bubble and procedures for all participating parties. This is the first time that the MotoGP teams and riders have entered Asia in the past two years, and if it all went according to plan, SIC will be a benchmark for other circuits and venues to follow during the pandemic.

We also managed to stumble across a few riders and team members who seemed very happy at how SIC has organised the Winter Test in a safe and controlled manner. Mr Azhan Shafriman confirmed this as the folks from Dorna and IRTA (International Road Racing Teams Association) were also very pleased with how things have worked out during the entire weekend, including some of Sepang's newly-upgraded facilities.

MotoGP is arguably the biggest international event within the SIC calendar, and another year without it will not be good for its business as well as the fans. The cancellations of events in 2021 and 2022 were already bad enough for everyone, and all hopes lie on the race returning to its former glory come October 2022. But, it all boils down to the Malaysian government and its ongoing battle with the pandemic.