Having released ticket prices for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia a trite early yesterday, the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) has finally published the real list…and there’s no difference from the “leaked” list.
As it happens, a three-day pass for this unique, one-year-only Formula 1 race at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) still costs just RM200 for the G Hillstand (overlooking Turns 4, 5 and 6). This is the “Madani” ticket reserved for Malaysians with a valid MyKad, just like the K2 Grandstand for MotoGP. The other seats are much more expensive, retailing at RM809.60 for the B Hillstand (Turns 13 and 14) and C Hillstand (Turns 9, 10 and 11).
The seated and covered grandstand tickets are not significantly pricier, starting from RM1,291.40 for the F Grandstand (arguably the best view, overlooking Turns 7 and 8, the Turn 15 hairpin, the Main Grandstand complex and around 50% of the entire track) and rising to RM1,386 for the K1 Grandstand (Turns 1 and 2). The seats that most punters will want, the Main Grandstand itself, will run you a relatively steep RM2,083 for three days.
Contrast these figures with those for the Singapore Grand Prix the following week, where even the cheapest three-day pass will set you back S$548 (RM2,240) – although to be fair, this does include access to the Sprint Race on Saturday.
The website is now open for purchases, although the queue is long, with over 20,000 people in it at the time of writing. That means we are unable to find out if single-day passes will be made available, as is the case with most other F1 races. For its part, BIC has confirmed that children aged three to six are entitled to a 25% discount (except for the G Hillstand), while those under three will be able to enter free of charge.
We should point out that all ticket sales will be processed in Bahraini dinar at the prevailing exchange rate, meaning that these prices are subject to change without prior notice. This is a quirk of the race’s arrangement, which sees the Bahraini government retaining all ticket sale proceeds as a result of it paying for F1’s hosting and licencing fees. This is why BIC is handling ticket sales instead of SIC, and it’s also why the race has such a confusing name.
By the way, the prices above are reserved for MyKad holders. Foreign visitors will need to fork out a bit more money for these tickets – US$218.90 (RM895) for Hillstands B and C, US$376.39 (RM1,538) for Grandstand F, US$350.13 (RM1,431) for Grandstand K1 and US$566.05 (RM2,314) for the Main Grandstand.
The Bahrain GP in Malaysia will be held on the weekend of October 2 to 4, slotting into the week between the Azerbaijan and Singapore GPs. It came about because of the ongoing Iran War, which scuppered the original Bahrain GP to be held in Sakhir on April 12. Even the rescheduled event in October came to pass, with F1 instead choosing it to be held at Sepang.
Alright !1 Folks who fancy FI, let’s get there and support our SIC… in fact the price even paid in Bahrain dinar, still way way cheaper. so let’s not leave empty stands…
let the stands be empty then. if the event is a success, its all Bahrain. Malaysia is like just being used.
tickets sold also not in MYR eventhough event is held in our homeland.
good idea, can we also pay for geely cars in renminbi ?
so Bahrain is exerting their dominance over Malaysia this way? Showing that MYR is nothing even on our home ground.
must pay in DINAR, benefited currency exchanger
ticketing site is already down. Malaysians’ enthusiasm for deals is 2nd to none! :))