Jorge Lorenzo sideways at Sepang International Circuit
Jorge Lorenzo sideways at Sepang International CircuitMotoGP Circuit NewsAhead of Friday’s opening day of practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix, Dorna Sports, the rights holder of MotoGP, announced that Sepang International Circuit will host the series until at least 2016.
The track, where Marco Simoncelli perished during the 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix, has been on the MotoGP calendar since 1999.Having seen crowd numbers go up drastically in recent years, with a new record expected this weekend, this is great news for the championship, the fans, and the continued expansion of motorcycle racing into the Asian territory.Last year the Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix attracted record spectators of 125,000 over the three days with Dorna, the exclusive rights holder acknowledging the event as The Best Grand Prix of the Year. This year, with extensive regional promotions and the unprecedented representation of six Malaysian riders, this premiere motorcycle event is expected to attract an even larger crowd with 95% of the available 80,000 tickets for Sunday’s race day already sold.Carmelo Ezpeleta says: “To sign this agreement for the next three years is fantastic news for all parties involved in MotoGP. The Sepang International Circuit is a great facility that is a favorite for many reasons, and is invaluable on the race calendar. It is one of the cornerstones of the Championship’s push into new markets, and continues to draw ever-greater number of fans. I hope for many more years of exciting racing to come.”Dato Razlan Razali (SIC Chief Executive Officer) says: “The announcement of the extension could not have arrived at a better time, as SIC has been in the midst of much progress of late with the launch of the South East Asian Motorcycle Business Forum as well as the Shell Advance ASIA Talent Cup.”
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This week, in the first segment Editor Don Williams talks to us about the new Kawasaki Versys 650 LT. It’s the middleweight ADV style machine that uses the same 650 parallel twin motor as the Ninja 650, so it’s an excellent performer in a user-friendly, good looking package.
In the second segment, I chat with one of my dearest industry friends—now retired Honda PR executive, Jon Seidel. Jon’s fascinating career spans some 30 years with Big Red, and gave him some great experiences with some incredible machines. I was fortunate enough to be invited on many of the press launches that he organized. His new project is documenting and saving many of the old archives from years gone by—and incidentally, if you have anything that may be of value to the project, please contact us by email at producer@ultimatemotorcycling.com and we’ll pass it all on to Jon.
So on that note, from all of us here at Ultimate Motorcycling, we hope you enjoy this episode!
