Sepang Closes; GTWC Asia Opener Set for Cancelation

Photo: SRO

Sepang International Circuit will be closed until April 30 on account of a ruling made by the Malaysian government, forcing the GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS season-opener to be canceled.

SRO Motorsports Group is yet to release an official statement but it will no longer be able to open the GTWC Asia season at Sepang on March 28-29.

In an announcement on Friday, Malaysian prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin banned all mass gatherings, including sporting events, until April 30 on account of the country’s increasing number of Covid-19 cases.

A statement released by the circuit read: “Sepang International Circuit (SIC) takes serious attention pertaining to public health and safety and according to the advice from the government, all events in SIC will be canceled or postponed until further notice.”

The next scheduled GTWC Asia race is on April 25-26 at Buriram, before further rounds at Fuji, Suzuka and Shanghai later in the year.

The impending official cancelation of the Sepang round will mark the first impact of the global Covid-19 pandemic on the Asian championship, which hasn’t yet been forced to make any changes.

Jake Kilshaw

Jake Kilshaw is a UK-based journalist. He is a graduate of Politics and International Relations.