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.