Great news for Malaysian fans of the FIM Endurance World Championship, because it has just been announced that starting from next year the Sepang circuit will be included in this championship calendar.
In trying to provide endurance racing fans a better experience, the championship promoters Eurosport Events have come up with this new event, the Sepang 8 Hours race!
This race, to be held December 2019, will be the first-ever winter race in the championship’s history, and its second race in Asia. It will serve as a qualifying event for the Suzuka Grand finale.
The race will have the same format as the Suzuka 8 Hours, with a Superpole Top 10 Trial and a finish after nightfall. The Sepang 8 Hours will also be the first qualifying round for all the Southeast Asian and Japanese teams wishing to take part in the Suzuka 8 Hours. It means the finest Asian teams hoping to qualify for Suzuka will be on track in Malaysia together with the permanent FIM EWC teams, who will be invited to Sepang.
Eurosport Events will cover the costs of European and Japanese teams competing at Sepang.
The Sepang International Circuit is a world-standard circuit that has hosted major international car and motorcycle races for the past 20 years. The combination of Sepang and Suzuka, two iconic venues in Asia, will offer the FIM EWC bright new horizons.
“Based on a public survey that SIC conducted for 3 months last year, we are pleased that this race series FIMEWC was voted as events that Malaysians would like to see at Sepang Circuit as a replacement to Formula One. We are also pleased that the Sepang round will be the qualification round for Japanese and Asian Teams for the grand finale to participate in the iconic Suzuka 8 Hours. The finest teams competing in the full FIM EWC season will also be there honing their weapons ahead of Suzuka. Interests for 2 wheels event have grown in Malaysia for the last 8 years and we are excited for this event to take place in December 2019 after all the major events are completed and we hope to attract top riders to race in the Sepang 8 Hours”, said Razlan Razali, Sepang CEO.