Malaysia looks to woo Indonesian crowd to F1 race

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Sepang International Circuit (SIC) plans to hold a road show to four major cities in Indonesia to woo local automotive enthusiasts to next year's Malaysian Formula One Grand Prix.

The road show is scheduled to tour Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya and Denpasar in February.

"Last year, we had 4,000 people come from Indonesia. Now, we are expecting 6,000," SIC sales manager Izzudin Rosli said at a media conference at Planet Hollywood here on Tuesday.

The Malaysian grand prix, which is set for March 18 through March 20, is the second in the 19-series 2005 F1 race, following the Melbourne series on March 6.

While expecting a turnout of 120,000 spectators, Izzudin considered Indonesia as one of the largest potential markets for the Malaysian series and that the promotional tour would lure more Indonesians to Sepang.

"Ninety percent of last year's Indonesian turnout came on their own arrangement. They did not appear to have used the services offered by travel agents. Hopefully, more will be interested in the tour package offered ... this year," he said, adding that the promotional network consisted of 30 Indonesian travel agents.

Apart from tickets to the F1 race, the package includes non- sporting activities.

"They can come to Malaysia not only to watch the race, but also to go shopping and visit some interesting destinations in the country," Izzudin said.

The Sepang management is relying on the promotional draw of Miss Indonesia 2004 Artika Sari Devi and two other pageantry contestants -- Nadia Mulya and Novie Isabiet Gobel -- in their promotional campaign.

"I'm happy to be part of Malaysian Grand Prix," Artika said.

Malaysia is one of four Asian nations that will host the 2005 F1 series along with Bahrain, China and Japan.

Contributing 4,000 people to last year's race, the Indonesian crowd was among the three largest spectator groups after Singapore with 10,000 and the United Kingdom with 6,000.

Grand prix ticket prices range from US$40 to $444, and a five percent discount is being offered for purchases made before Jan. 24.

The F1 Grand Prix has become Malaysia's biggest sporting attraction, which has provided a huge financial intake, said Izzudin.

"Last year, we garnered RM500 million, RM35 million of which came from ticket sales," he said.