SEPANG – Tunku Panglima Johor Tunku Abdul Rahman Ibrahim expects Phase 1 of the redevelopment of the Pasir Gudang Circuit in Johor to be completed within the next two to three years, at the very least.
The circuit, which was first opened in 1986, closed down in 2017 for redevelopment but has been hampered by many factors, including the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We have to follow International Automobile Federation (FIA) guidelines.
“That is why we decided to close down the circuit because if there are any incidents that happen without it being licenced by the FIA, then it would be difficult for us to hold future races,” he told reporters at Johor Motorsports Racing’s (JMR) media day at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC), here today.
The Johor prince added that upon completion of the redevelopment, the circuit will become the home of JMR.
“That is the plan, I think here in Sepang there are a few teams that base themselves here as part of their track business
“There could be other teams that will base themselves at Pasir Gudang but let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” he added.
Addressing speculation about third-party involvement in the redevelopment of the Pasir Gudang Circuit, Tunku Abdul Rahman clarified that there are no such plans.
“We took over the circuit in 2015 when there was a plan to redevelop it into a housing project.
“We have always planned for it to be a racing circuit but we kept things to ourselves as we didn’t want to overhype the project.
“I have only heard of that (third-party involvement) from what I read on the internet.
“But on our part, we plan to focus on a grassroots academy and turn the circuit into an international-grade track,” he said. – April 19, 2024