2017 Malaysian Moto GP - what a fun day out

lorisolan
Oct 1, 2017
2 min read

I went to the Australian Moto GP three years running at Philip Island. It is a great day out when the weather is kind. If you get a cloudy, cold day it is heightened by the close proximity to the ocean. Whilst I had a brilliant time, it didn't come close to the fun of the Malaysian Moto GP. Both Australians and Malaysians clearly love the day, however the Malaysians seem to just relish in it and the atmosphere is unquestionable. I went to the Formula One just 4 weeks previous and there was no life to it. I couldn't believe how empty the grounds were at the F1 and now understand why 2017 was going to be the last year Malaysia hosted this event at the Sepang International Circuit in Selangor.

I expected the same from the Moto GP however it couldn't have been more different. Even on our drive up to the car park, the buzz was amazing. There were so many more food trucks and stalls on the side of the road than at the F1 which is a clear sign of the level of crowd expectation as Malaysians love their food. There were motorbikes and scooters whizzing past us every few seconds with excited people on board. Nearly every person there was donning some form of Valentino Rossi (46) clothing making it a complete sea of yellow and blue.

Sepang International Circuit in Selangor

We walked to our gate passing many vendors selling merchandise, again mainly Rossi gear. There was a huge queue when we reached the gate unlike the F1 where we just breezed through. We struggled to find a spot on the hill overlooking the track as it was a really sunny day so everyone was huddling under the shade of the roof. The view of the track was incredible, you could see so much of it which makes it a lot more enjoyable to watch instead of squinting at the tiny screen near the track (they really do need to invest in a bigger tv).

The build up the race was super. We sat sipping our beers and taking it all in. There was a 23 year old Malaysian racer Hafizh Syahrin (#55) in Moto 2 riding for Petronas so the cheers from the crowd were electrifying as he passed by on each lap. Unfortunately he didn't finish on the day but still helped to hype the crowd for the main race at 3.30pm. I was so excited to see how the Malays would be when Rossi drove past in the warm up lap and I wasn't disappointed. It felt like nearly every single person was cheering for him, people really love him worldwide but especially here it seemed. Rossi rode between 7th and 8th place for most of the race and finished 7th with a win from Andrea Dovizioso.

It really is a fun way to spend a Sunday and at 48RM ($15AUD/$11USD) for a hill stand ticket, an absolute bargain as well.