MERDEKA RACE 2020
Wednesday, 26 August 2020 – In conjunction with the month of Malaysia’s Independence Day, Sepang International Circuit (SIC) has introduced a one-off special round, the Merdeka Race 2020 which will be featuring the Malaysia Championship Series (MCS) in collaboration with Malaysia Speed Festival (MSF), a popular local championship series.
The much awaited four-wheels event will be held during the Merdeka weekend from 29 to 30 August 2020, promising a weekend filled with thrills and excitement with back-to-back races from MCS and MSF till late hours on the eve of Merdeka showcasing a night race under SIC’s floodlights.
Previously called the Malaysian Super Series which was introduced in 2002, the race was rebranded as the Malaysia Championship Series (MCS) in 2015 as an effort to boost further interest and excitement into the series among local motorheads.
Since then, MCS has shown strong growth year by year with increasing participation from teams and drivers locally and regionally. The National Championships also hosted many support races from all over Asia such as the Blancpain GT Series Asia, Porsche Carrera Cup Asia, F3 Asian Championship, F4 SEA Championship and many more.
MCS runs the T Production (Touring Production) for production cars above 1900cc onwards and a Malaysia Touring Car (M Production) for the 1600cc class. Last season, the teams competed over four rounds of two one-hour sprint races with the final round made more challenging with a 300-km endurance race of 54 laps around the 5,543-meter track.
Defending champion for the M-Production Class Championship, Team Proton R3 with the pair of experience and talented drivers, Farique Haruman and Syafiq Ali, unfortunately will not be chasing the crown this weekend as the team are preparing for Sepang 1000KM Endurance Race (S1K) which will be held in November.
Meanwhile, 23 Motors Racing Team, winner for last year Touring Production Class, Farouk Abdul Kathir will be partnering with Keifli Othman as they are looking forward to be back in actions.
On the other side of the paddock, the annual MSF Merdeka Enduro race returns for the Merdeka weekend reviving the tradition of the Merdeka Endurance race type event since it was introduced in 2018.
SIC Talent Development drivers Mitchell Cheah winner for MCS Round 3 last year with his team Proton R3 will be partnering up with Adam Khalid who scored a double P2 in Round 4 of the MCS last year with HI-REV SIC Dream Chaser racing for SIC Viper Niza Racing Team in the MSF Ultimate category on Sunday night.
The Merdeka Race 2020 will be the first four-wheel event hosted by SIC during the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) and it is set to showcase 180 cars for MSF and more than 24 cars for MCS on the grid for a two-day race weekend packed with a total of two sprint races and six endurance-type races across multiple category types, making it the biggest two wheel event in 2020 thus far.
With the current Covid-19 pandemic situation, means that the event will be held behind closed doors. However, fans of the races can still participate for the weekend with exciting off track activities planned to complete the Merdeka weekend celebration. The first Drive-in Race Viewing Experience will be hosted exclusively at the paddock with a limited 50 cars per day to come and experience the race live at the circuit. Passes can be purchased at RM80 early bird price from 25 to 28 August 2020 while walk-in price on event day is at RM100. Discover a wide array choices of food at the Food Bazaar and behind the scene experience at the paddock with partner’s booth available to shop for your favorite souvenirs and merchandise.
Fans at home can catch the two-days action live on SIC and MSF Facebook pages, with a delayed telecast on Astro Arena channel 801/802HD from 2 to 3 September 2020. Join us to witness the Malaysian heroes and who will emerge champion of the Merdeka Race 2020.
For more information, please contact SIC Public Relations & Communications representative, Akil Mansiz at akil.amin@sepangcircuit.com