Organizers refuse to review F1 tickets

Organizers refuse to review F1 tickets

KUALA LUMPUR (AP): Despite having sold barely half of the
90,000 tickets for this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix,
organizers on Tuesday rejected the sports minister's call to
review prices for next year's race if sales do not improve.

"Basically, the ticket price in future Malaysian GPs will be
the same as that for this year's," said Azmi Murad, general
manager of Sepang International Circuit.

The cheapest tickets are 100 ringgit (US$26), which entitles
the bearer to sit on a grassy hillside without protection from
rain or sun to watch the cars hurtle down the ultramodern Sepang
F-1 Circuit.

Many Malaysians have criticized the price as too high,
especially if, for example, a fan tries to bring his family. The
spectators must also pay for separate parking passes at 40
ringgit per car.

Azmi, quoted by national news agency Bernama, insisted that
organizers have already been providing discounts of up to 15
percent to ticket buyers.

Youth and Sports Minister Hishamuddin Tun Hussein was quoted
as saying Monday that the organizers assured him that the prices
were lower than elsewhere.

"If this is not a fact, then ticket prices for next year must
be reviewed in order to attract the crowd," Hishamuddin said.

The Malaysian race is one of the few Formula One events held
in a developing country. The Sepang circuit opened in 1999 and is
one of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's mega-projects aimed a
turning this Southeast Asian nation into a fully developed
country by 2020.

In 1999 and 2000, sellout crowds attended. Some Malaysians
have said that the current race, the second of the season, comes
too soon after last year's closing race here in October.

Organizers have ruled out a live broadcast on Malaysian
television this year to encourage fans to come to the circuit.