More Singapore cars and motorcycles heading to Sepang International Circuit for track sessions
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According to some organisers, there are now as many as five Sepang track days booked by Singapore groups in a given month.
ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
SINGAPORE – More drivers from Singapore are making a 3½-hour road journey to Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia for track days.
Through bookings made by Singapore-based motor workshops or motoring clubs, the drivers get to use the racetrack with their own vehicles. Each session lasts between four and eight hours.
Demand for track sessions from Singapore has been growing since border crossings with Malaysia reopened on April 1, 2022.
According to some organisers, there are now as many as five Sepang track days booked by Singapore groups in a given month, compared with an average of one or two sessions before the borders were closed in March 2020.
Track days cost a driver anything from $300 to $800 a session. The number of cars at each event can be 80 or more. The most exclusive and priciest track days have as few as 10 cars participating.
The 5.5km Sepang circuit was a regular fixture on the Formula One (F1) World Championship calendar from 1999 to 2017. Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen was the last F1 driver to take the chequered flag there.
Mr Andre Tang from motor workshop Garage R, which hosts two to three track days a year, says there has been a rush for track days since the border reopened.
Drivers are a mix of experienced trackgoers and first-timers.
The types of vehicles participating are also evolving, according to Mr Tang. Besides performance Japanese cars, European sports cars are becoming more popular.
Mr Tang says there have also been Tesla electric vehicles on the track, along with mass market cars such as the Honda Vezel and Mitsubishi Lancer.
Mr Arthur Wong from ACM Automobiles, a used car dealership which organised its first track day in Sepang in 2019, says such events are getting better organised than before.
In addition to the use of the circuit, organisers now include catered meals and event T-shirts.
Traction Circle Club, founded in 2002 to organise car track days, has more than 300 members now. In 2023, the club hosted seven track days, with the last one on Oct 28 running from 9am to 5pm.
Mr Daniel Yong, 53, who has enjoyed track driving for more than 20 years and is a member of Traction Circle Club, says: “Driving on a track is safer than being on the road. This is a safe environment to learn about cars and about driving.”
The club has a partnership with Grip Academy, a network of experienced race drivers, to train new drivers looking to hone their track driving skills.
The Sepang International Circuit also has open-track days. Drivers can just buy a ticket online in advance and turn up. A ticket costs RM300 (S$86) for an hour on the track.
The 5.5km Sepang circuit was a regular fixture on the Formula One (F1) World Championship calendar from 1999 to 2017.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Meanwhile, more motorcycle riders from Singapore are also going to the circuit for track days. Sessions for cars and motorcycles are held separately.
Mr Joseph Lee from SBR Trackdays, a Singapore-based company which organises track days in Malaysia and Thailand, says he has been seeing 20 to 30 new riders at each of the six track events he has organised so far in 2023.
These sessions run for two days, from 9am to 6pm daily, with up to 220 motorcyclists attending. The riders are sent onto the track in batches, depending on their skill level and speed.
The Sepang International Circuit has been regularly upgraded and maintained to meet the requirements of major race events such as the MotoGP World Championship and Malaysia Championship Series, a national racing series.
In 2018, lighting was added to allow for night track sessions, which is popular with experienced trackgoers as the machines perform better in cooler conditions.
Mr Chan Wei Wen, 42, who has been going for track days in Sepang since 2019, advises drivers looking to try track driving to sign up with events hosted by Singapore-based companies, because these sessions tend to be less crowded than the ones held by Malaysian groups. This, he says, makes it easier for first-timers to gain confidence.
Besides booking a time slot to use the track, here are what first-time track drivers need to know:
Helmets and fully covered shoes are compulsory.
Motor insurance does not cover driving on track.
Drivers are responsible for damage to the track, such as damage to crash barriers or any oil spills from their cars.
When the red flag is waved on track, cars have to return to the pit lane, as it means that the track is closed, usually because of an incident.
