The Malaysian Grand Prix organisers say they are on course to hit their attendance target following a late surge in ticket sales.
The race in Sepang has failed to attract healthy numbers in recent years, despite tickets costing as little as £11 ($19).
This year however, the numbers look good according to Datuk Razlan, the chief executive officer of SIC [Sepang International Circuit].
“As soon as the Australian Grand Prix ended last Sunday, the attention turned towards Malaysia and we’ve seen a sudden hike in ticket sales,” he told the Malaysian media.
“We’ve reached 60% of our target and over the next 10 days, we expect more.
“This is as expected. Malaysians are usually last-minute ticket buyers and in these final days leading up to the race, we expect to see a surge in sales.”
Whilst the numbers may look good, the amount sold is nowhere near capacity. The circuit can hold 130,000 fans at any one time, yet the organisers can only realistically hope to sell 65,000 race-day tickets.
At present, the sales are up on the 2010 figures for the same period last year.
Razlan is hoping another late surge will further boost sales following two demonstrations in the country.
Team Lotus and Red Bull will take to the streets in Putrajaya and Bukit Bintang respectively.
“Fans will get to see these F1 cars running through the streets, not just in stationary display. Having seen that, hopefully they will want more and come to watch the race itself.”
