Decision soon on contract renewal for Malaysian MotoGP to be held at SIC

KUALA LUMPUR - The decision on whether to extend the contract to host the Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix (MotoGP) at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC), to be held at the end of this year, will be known soon.

SIC chief executive officer Azhan Shafriman Hanif said the paperwork for the MotoGP contract renewal in the country has been presented to the Youth and Sports Ministry and is awaiting tabling at the Cabinet.

"Insya-Allah, we should get news (on the contract extension for the hosting of the MotoGP at SIC) within this month.

"We have proposed five years, but it will depend on the Cabinet decision. We hope to extend the contract for five years because there are many other projects that we intend to carry out with MotoGP,” he said when met after the Motorsports Association of Malaysia (MAM) Awards Night 2025 here yesterday.

Malaysia's current contract for hosting the MotoGP, renewed in 2024, is until this year.

Azhan Shafriman said one of the projects it intends to carry out with MotoGP is setting up the base for the Asia Talent Cup in Sepang, which will create job opportunities for local talent, such as engineers, mechanics and data engineers.

Although the fee for hosting the MotoGP has risen by 10 to 15 per cent, he remains confident that the increase commensurates with the SIC offer to extend the contract for the world's most prestigious motorcycling race.

Meanwhile, MotoGP chief sporting officer Carlos Ezpeleta said there has been a lot of progress, and he is feeling very comfortable about the contract renewal for the race at SIC.

"We’re looking forward, for sure, to another five years of the agreement with SIC, it's a really important market.

"In these past months, we've been able to progress on the negotiations, so it's pretty much done now. It’s just a question of getting it formalised with the ministries,” he said.

The MotoGP race in Malaysia has been held at SIC since 1999, with the only exception being its cancellation in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. - BERNAMA