Safety changes made to Malaysian F1 circuit
Safety changes made to Malaysian F1 circuit
KUALA LUMPUR (Agencies): Course modifications are under way to improve safety for drivers in the Malaysian Grand Prix, the second event of this year's Formula One season, organizers said on Thursday.
Haji Basir Ismail, chairman of the Sepang International Circuit, told a news conference ahead of the March 18 race that curbs were being moved back at turns five and six "to enhance safety for the drivers."
"We are also pushing back the guard rails at turns seven and 15 by between two and five meters in order to provide larger run- off areas for the drivers," Basir said.
A half-dozen cars crashed out of the 2000 race, though none of the drivers was seriously injured. The included veteran Johnny Herbert of Britain, who was in his last Formula One race, driving for Jaguar.
The modifications should cost less than 1 million ringgit (US$260,000) and are considered minor compared to extensive changes made last year at the circuit, next to Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
The ultra-modern circuit, which hosted its inaugural Grand Prix in 1999, is a symbol of avid motorsports enthusiast Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's dream of making Malaysia a fully developed country by 2020.
This year's race will be held after the Australian Grand Prix and comes just five months after Sepang hosted the final race of the 2000 season, won by Ferrari's German ace, Michael Schumacher.
The race completed the Italian racing team's capture of both the driver and constructor categories for the first time since 1979.
Basir said that the Paris-based International Automobile Federation, the governing authority of Formula One, had judged the Sepang circuit the "most beautiful" for 2000.
About 10 percent of the 90,000 tickets that organizers hope to sell have already been purchased, Basir said. Aggressive marketing campaigns were under way to attract foreign and Malaysian fans.
Organizers hope to ease traffic jams that plagued spectators on race day last year by better publicizing public transportation.
In Valencia, Spain, McLaren's former world champion Mika Hakkinen was quickest in testing for the second consecutive day here Wednesday, leaving Williams' new hotshot Juan Pablo Montoya in the shade.
The two-time Finnish world champion scorched around the Ricardo Tormo circuit, clocking a best time of 1min 13.828sec after 89 laps, well ahead of Montoya's 1:13.421.
Montoya is being touted as the bright new hope of F1 racing after switching from CART racing.
But it was a black day for Jaguar and star driver Eddie Irvine. Irvine, the 1999 runner-up in the drivers' championship, followed up his fourth-fastest performance in Tuesday's test session by spinning off and damaging his car.
Results 1. Mika Hakkinen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes 1:13.828 (89 laps) 2. Juan-Pablo Montoya (Col) Williams-BMW 1:14.421 (104) 3. Marc Gene (Spa) Williams-BMW 1:14.907 (57) 4. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Benetton 1:15.197 (50) 5. Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Williams-BMW 1:15.334 (71) 6. Alexander Wurz (Aut) McLaren-Mercedes 1:15.391 (50) 7. Jos Verstappen (Ned) Arrows 1:15.391 (109) 8. Eddie Irvine (Gbr) Jaguar 1:15.661 (59) 9. Jenson Button (Gbr) Benetton 1:16.136 (70)