Malaysia has dropped plans to host the final race in the Formula E world championship after local partner Sports Tech Holdings and Formula E failed to agree on the financial aspects to hold the race. The country was scheduled to begin the electric single-seater racing championship’s season-ending race annually from next year until 2030 after Sports Tech secured the rights for the event earlier this year.
According to Sports Tech, negotiations failed due to a huge rise in the rights fee and an unexpected escalation in commercial charges following its decision to move the venue from a city circuit in Kuala Lumpur to the Sepang International Circuit (SIC). While Formula E was keen on holding the event to its expectations in KL, Sports Tech chose SIC due to technical challenges on the street circuit in the city, FMT reports.
Sports Tech CEO Wan Agyl Wan Hassan said that the costs of holding the race were too high, while the potential returns were limited. “Our decision to step back from this opportunity stems from differences in expectations regarding the event’s scope and financial framework. The economic conditions and the scale of investment required did not align seamlessly with our strategic priorities or financial planning,” he said.
“The new race fees are beyond our financial capacity, and we did not want to financially burden the government. If there is no economic value, why should we continue?” he added. Wan Agyl did not disclose the amount sought by Formula E as that could not be shared under a non-disclosure agreement between both parties.
It was projected that the Malaysian round of the championship could inject some RM157.5 million into the local economy through visitor spending and create over 10,000 jobs. It was also forecast that the event could contribute RM6.73 billion to the country’s economy over the next decade.
The country has previously hosted Formula E races – in 2014 and 2015, it ran the Putrajaya ePrix at a specially designed street circuit in the administrative capital.
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