Malaysians Coy About Doing It Under Floodlights

The Malaysian grand prix could become a night race from next year, following the example of the inaugural formula one event in Singapore which is scheduled to become the first ever held under floodlights next September.

Bernie Ecclestone, the formula one commercial rights holder, is currently pushing races such as Australia and Malaysia to follow Singapore's example and opt for a night race, thereby enhancing the value of the television coverage in Europe which would see these races screened in the middle of the day rather than during the small hours.

However, the management team at Kuala Lumpur's Sepang circuit, venue for the Malaysian grand prix on Sunday, have made it clear that no decision has yet been taken as to whether next year's race will change its format to become a night event.

"Right now it is only an option," said Datuk Amzi Murad, the general manager of the circuit. "Nothing is finalized yet. We are still gathering input and we should also include the drivers and teams in formula one and MotoGP [motorcycle racing] before we can do a proper evaluation."

Murad added: "It isn't only about whether to do it or not to do it, it is also about how we want to do it, what sort of lighting, where we should locate the lighting and so on."

Meanwhile, although officials at last Sunday's Australian grand prix in Melbourne have apparently ruled out the prospect of running at night, the race promoter, Ron Walker, is optimistic that a compromise solution can be reached with Ecclestone, who recently said that the fixture's future on the calendar could be in jeopardy if they did not agree to a change in schedule.

"I will be seeing Mr Ecclestone some time in the next three or four weeks and we will have a heart-to-heart discussion about what he wants to do," Walker told auto sport.com. "He loves Melbourne and I am sure we will work something out. Business is about compromise. If you talk to the teams and the media, they love being here." The Victoria state premier, John Brumby, has declared that his government will do whatever it can to guarantee the future of the race in the capital city.

Meanwhile, Kimi Raikkonen said he expects Ferrari's engineers to rapidly get a grip on the mechanical failures that saw both him and Felipe Massa fail to finish in Melbourne. "Lacking reliability is not a good thing, but the team back in Maranello works really hard to solve our problems," said the world champion. "I am not worried about the competitiveness of the car because I know we have a good car, and we certainly have the speed."