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Trulli going roung the curve at Sepang
Sepang facts &
stats
* The Malaysian Grand Prix is the only Formula 1 race ever to be staged
on the Asian sub-continent.
* Last year’s race at Sepang was the first season finale since the
1995 Australian GP not to decide the world championship.
* Sepang’s huge double-frontage grandstand that faces the back
straight and the start-finish straight seats 75,000 race fans.
* Michael Schumacher is looking for his sixth successive win. If he
manages it, he will become the first man since 1953 to win more than
five consecutive races. Alberto Ascari won nine on the trot between 1952
and 1953.
* The pit complex has two prayer rooms, a must for a circuit in such a
devoutly Moslem country. There is also a royal lounge and garden.
* The circuit’s full name is Sepang F1 circuit, making it the only
track in the world allowed to use the prefix ‘F1’ in its title.
* Michael Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello, Mika Hakkinen and Eddie Irvine
have all finished both previous Malaysian Grands Prix in the points.
Schumacher is the only man to have been on the podium both times.
* No Silverstone-style parking nightmares at Sepang. The track has
18,000 purpose-built parking spaces.
* With a width of 16 metres Sepang is one of the widest tracks in the
world.
* Williams have never finished in the top six at Sepang. If they fail to
reverse that trend this weekend, it will be the first time since their
disastrous 1988 campaign that they have failed to score a point in the
first two races.
* Sepang was voted the most challenging track on the grand prix calendar
by Formula 1 drivers in 1999.
* The circuit is the first one in the world to be equipped with
electronic marshals’ posts which flash coloured lights to the drivers
instead of flags.
* Malaysia has never produced a Formula 1 driver(not yet that is).
* Unsurprisingly, Prost are the team with the worst record at Sepang. In
1999, both cars retired within the first five laps. Last year, Nick
Heidfeld crashed out on the first lap and Jean Alesi finished 11th of 12
finishers.
* The construction of the Sepang circuit took 14 months, costing RM286
million. At times, there were well over 1,000 people working on the
site.
Courtesy of www.itv-f1.com
For an in depth
look at Malaysian sights, go to: 
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Malaysia
travelogue
Sepang has become an instant hit with drivers and fans for its
impressive track and assured organisation.
So much so, in fact, that it’s been described as the first
21st century circuit. High praise indeed. But what’s going on
in the surrounding area…
Malaysia is a classic Tiger economy. True the traditional
industries of rubber, oil and tin continue to thrive, but they
co-exist with a burgeoning services sector with its archetypal
gleaming glass and marble cathedrals.
The capital Kuala Lumpur, KL to the locals, has taken the
concept of big to heart. It boasts the world’s tallest
building, the world’s tallest flagpole and there are even
plans to construct the world’s longest building - not an easy
one to imagine that.
The twin Petronas Towers skyscrapers dominate the skyline and
make excellent postcard fodder.
But modernity only monopolises the central districts and a more
typical snapshot would be a colourful Asian streetscene replete
with bicycles, street vendours, markets, and as always a lot of
people.
Only half of Malaysians are indigenous the rest made up of
peoples from surrounding countries and beyond. It all adds up to
a veritable melting pot of cultures. Consequently lifestyles,
religions and cuisines vary enormously.
Malaysia also possesses outstandingly beautiful countryside with
a archipelago of paradise islands. Its also the home of the
“man of the forest” the orang utan.
One other word of advice: Don’t carry drugs around, a policy
of zero tolerance leaves anyone caught in possession of illegal
drugs facing the death penalty.
After dark
KL is fast rivalling any of the other Asian metropolises for
entertainment and as you’d expect there’s the usual plethora
of lively bars, clubs and cabarets.
Picking the in place can be difficult however. Right now the
Beach Club and Emporium are where it's at.
A little further afield is the district of Bangsar - only ten
minutes in a taxi. Here you'll find lots of restaurants and many
bars - among them Finnegan's a popular Irish watering hole where
the Guinness is good. Always popular with the F1 crowd.
Other popular haunts are the Hard Rock Cafe, then there’s
Modestro's serving good continental cuisine and Scalini's - an
Italian restaurant equal to anything in Milan!
And sometimes spending time in hotels can be just the ticket. In
the luxurious Shangri-La the Chinese and Japanese restaurants
are excellent, the French restaurant has a superb menu and the
Coffee Garden offers an extensive buffet to suit all tastes.
(You don’t have to stay there to visit.)
A seafood lunch by the pool is a real pleasure. In the 'Pub' you
can eat Shepherds Pie, watch Premier League football and play
billiards! Ahhh a home from home!
Daytime
There are plenty of museums and gardens but as ever the best way
of exploring the city is simply hopping around in cabs between
shopping districts and monuments.
But to really soak up the Malaysian atmosphere you need to be on
a tropical beach, snorkelling on a reef or merely sitting under
a palm tree with a good novel.
Resorts and islands to look up are Malacca, the old Portuguese
colony, Penang, Langkawi and for a real treat Pangkor Laut.
Courtesy of www.itv-f1.com
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