Motorsport Asia Limited Motorsport Asia Ltd (MAL) was established in 1996 with the vision to fully develop the Motorsport industry in Asia. The company represents the new face of dynamism and optimism in the region and is now strategically poised to exploit the growing interest of the sport in Asia. Being the region’s leading fully integrated motorsport focused company, its extensive network of international expertise, combined with local know-how, places MAL on the cutting edge of developments in the motorsport business. MAL’s expertise can be seen through the body of work that it is involved in. Not only is the company the organizer of one of Asia’s biggest racing events, but it is also a respected corporation in the motorsport industry as a whole. MAL provides a complete range of motorsport services from race management, organization and administration, technical engineering, expertise and assistance, circuit design and safety advisory, to freight movement all around Asia and the list goes on. These and many other activities are performed by a group of professionals who are exposed to various aspects of motor racing and are passionate about the sport. For the past 11 years, the company has successfully run Events with various Series’ that are sanctioned and conform to the strict regulations laid down by the FIA. MAL has one of the most complete arrays of media communications and promotion capabilities for motorsport in Asia. MAL provides core links between teams, drivers, sponsors, circuits, events, the media and the general public through Media Relations, Public Relations, Communications, Advertising, Promotions and Internet Media. MAL’s dynamic team lays the foundations for complete media and promotion efforts, from planning, providing in-house design, delivery of materials, execution of on and off-track promotions, liaising with the media for pre and post event coverage, preparation and distribution of media releases, right down to analyzing the effectiveness of these efforts. This diverse collaboration by the team of professionals at MAL allows all partners involved to reap the full benefits of this service and has set the standards for effective media communications and promotions programmes in Asia.
Asian Festival Of Speed The Asian Festival of Speed is recognised regionally and internationally as the premier Asian motorsport event. AFOS comprises of the FIA-Sanctioned Asian Touring Car Series, Formula BMW Pacific, Porsche Carrera Cup Asia Series and the latest addition single-seater race series, Formula V6 Asia. The races in the AFOS calendar offer spectators a chance to witness the rising stars of Asian Motorsport tackle leading drivers and Teams from all around the globe in one action filled, power-packed event. This season sees drivers from Australia, Bahrain, China, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Sri Lanka, Macau, Malaysia, New Zealand, Republic of South Africa, Singapore, Taipei, Thailand, United Kingdom and the United States of America. In the past, drivers such as Takuma Sato (F1), Alex Yoong (A1GP & F1) and Narain Karthikeyan (F1), along with many others, were all participants of AFOS. The AFOS championships constitute a year-round marketing opportunity providing sponsors with high brand visibility. The variety and intensity of the racing ensures increased spectator and media interest year on year. In recent years world renowned manufacturers such as Porsche and BMW have collaborated with Motorsport Asia Ltd in establishing one make race Series’ in the Region recognising the opportunity that AFOS represents in one of the fastest growing areas of the world utilising AFOS as a platform for their marketing strategies. At each venue, there are other attractions to entertain the crowd during the AFOS events. AFOS organizer, Motorsport Asia Ltd, ensures that these side events and activities further enhance the spectator experience at the track. Side events include Dancers, DJ’s, Concerts, drift challenges, car displays, automotive exhibitions, Children’s activities and lucky draws. This year, AFOS will head to seven different circuits around Asia and once again the event will attract great media attention at each venue. The AFOS TV programmes were regularly watched by an audience of over 230 million viewers in more than 70 countries. Over 297 publications worldwide carry regularly reports from all AFOS events. Today, Motorsport Asia and AFOS are synonymous with motorsport development in Asia and are at the cutting edge of future regional expansion.
Asian Touring Car Series The Asian Touring Car Series (ATCS) provides the vital link between a powerful racing vehicle and the spectator by making the cars, outwardly at least, the same as road cars. This association made by the spectators translates into bigger sales for the manufacturers, which in part explains the presence of the biggest names in the auto industry in this type of racing. Fans get to see their favourite cars in action, and from the past to the present the ATCS has featured popular models such as BMW, Proton, Peugeot, Honda, Alfa Romeo, Volvo and Toyota. The series is currently subdivided into three categories: Division 1 (FIA Super 2000); Division 2 (Super Production) for 2000cc and below; and Division 3 for 1600cc and below. The Super 2000 regulations provide for more modifications and tuning of engines, brakes and suspension, boosting what is basically an everyday family car into the ranks of the supercar class. The Super Production class limits the engine capacity to a maximum of 2000cc and more stringent limits are placed on bodywork modification in order to preserve the familiar original look of the car. Participating drivers are professionals of varying backgrounds and most are highly experienced racers from around the globe. The three main teams currently involved with the Championship are Engstler Motorsport from Germany, DTM Bel’Air Racing from Hong Kong and Team Petronas from Malaysia.
Formula V6 Asia Formula V6 Asia is the latest addition to the single seater racing scene in Asia. It was created to provide both Asian and other International competitors, a highly cost effective platform to bridge the gap between the Junior Formulae, such as Formula BMW, Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula 3 and the top level categories such as World Series by Renault, GP2 and ultimately Formula 1. Formula V6 Asia is the most technologically advanced and certainly the fastest car in Asia. These cars have a 3.5 litre engine developing close to 400bhp, carbon fibre structure, HANS system, left-foot braking, steering wheel-mounted sequential gearshift and wheel restraints. The Teams hail from various parts of the world and come with an equally impressive pedigree. CT Motorsport from San Francisco, USA; Team Meritus from Malaysia; Team E-Rain Racing from Korea; Team Eurasia from England, UK; Champ Motorsport and Super Champ Racing from Zhuhai, China and TARADTM a collaboration from Malaysia and Singapore. This Series allows drivers the opportunity to drive on some of the best circuits in Asia and to be a part of the leading motorsport event in Asia, the Asian Festival Of Speed. With its aims of increasing performance whilst limiting costs, the Formula V6 Asia is the choice for all serious single-seater drivers in Asia. In its first year of racing, the FV6A is already known as a ‘Race of Champions’ as 2007’s line-up included previous champions from various series from around the world. The Inaugural Drivers Title went to Indian, Karun Chandhok, who fought a tremendous battle against the likes of Matt Halliday (New Zealand), Ananda Mikola (Indonesia) and Hamad Al Fardan (Bahrain) while the 2007 Drivers Title was won by James Winslow [United Kingdom]. .
Formula BMW Pacific The Formula BMW Pacific represents a great leap forward in the search for, and in the development of, Asian racing talents to become future world champions. The series features a line-up of drivers from all corners of the region, including Middle East, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia and India. Formula BMW Pacific features an ultra-modern standard specification race car and a comprehensive training and intensive support programme for drivers. The Series allows drivers as young as 15 to test their talent and develop their skills. The concept behind the Formula BMW Series is for the most talented drivers, rather than the most financially healthy, to succeed. It is for this reason that both the car and the training programme have been devised so that little if any advantage can be obtained by extra investment. The concept is backed by a scholarship programme offering six drivers annually a scholarship of US$50,000.00 to compete in the Formula BMW Pacific which is clearly setting a new benchmark in terms of safety, technology and equality of performance. Formula BMW Pacific consists of 18 races on six weekends in the 2008 season. On the three occasions Formula BMW Pacific supports a Formula One Grand Prix (in Malaysia, Singapore & Fuji), two rounds will be held, while each Asian Festival of Speed weekend will feature four races each.
Porsche Carrera Cup Asia The hugely popular Porsche Carrera Cup Asia made its debut as part of the AFOS event in 2003. This factory backed series runs Porsche Carrera GT3 Cup (Type 997) cars in full race specification. The PCCA is one of the fastest one-make series in the world and brings top class racing to this region. It offers spectacular motor racing coupled with prestige, glamour and excitement. With a sterling field confirmed for this season, the introduction of the 997-based Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car will mean faster, closer racing than ever before. The new features incorporated into the car include a six-speed sequential gearbox to make gear shifting faster and more failsafe, and tandem racing master cylinders with an in-car brake bias adjustment control to enable drivers to brake later and gain maximum effect. The revised front end aerodynamics further improve handling, and the full digital readout data logging dash (MOTEC) gives drivers and engineers more of the data so crucial in finding that extra tenth of a second. Only 18 of the 997-based Porsche have been made available and are exclusively for competition in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia.
Media & TV Production AFOS Media MAL has one of the most complete array of media communications and promotions lineage for motorsport in Asia. MAL provides core links between teams, drivers, sponsors, circuits, event, the media and the general public in terms of Media Relations, Public Relations, Communications, Advertising, Promotions and Internet Media. MAL’s dynamic team lays the foundation for complete media and promotion efforts from planning to providing in-house designing to delivery of materials to execution of on and off-track promotions, from liaising with media for pre and post event coverage to preparation and distribution of media releases, right down to analyzing the effectiveness of the efforts. This diverse collaboration by the team of professionals at MAL allows all partners involved to reap the full benefits of this effective service and has set the standards for effective media communications and promotions program in Asia.
AFOS TV The MAL production team comprises of talented and vastly experienced professionals. The team is responsible for every aspect of producing the high quality program which can be viewed by households from around the globe. Each program created by the team goes through a deliberate process, detailed prior to the start of each race season. A set of plans, which includes determining camera angles, laying out cables, selection of interviews, positioning of sponsors’ banners and a series of other on ground work, is carefully laid out to gain the maximum effectiveness from one weekend. All pre and post production work, are done completely by the MAL Production team in the high-tech editing suite, while the voice-over work is done in the United Kingdom. The programs are then distributed through MAL’s distribution line and are made available to news channels throughout the world.
MAL Services MAL Services MAL’s extensive knowledge and contacts has provided the opportunity to offer consultancy services for both the construction and enhancement of motorsport facilities throughout the region. In 1996, MAL was commissioned by Macquire Bank on behalf of Malaysia Aiports Bhd to conduct a detailed study on the suggested operations of the yet to be built Sepang F1 Circuit in Malaysia. Throughout the years, MAL has been involved in consulting on various projects to develop new and existing racing circuits in such places as Taichung, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Korea and Australia as well as being the driving force behind one of the consortiums invited to bid for the tender of a master plan for the development of an F1 street circuit in Singapore. In the past 11 years, MAL has been instrumental in the growth of the motorsport industry in Asia and will continue to push for further developments to make Asia a recognized motorsport hub.
Affiliations Around the Globe Corporate companies provide another angle of communication between the event and the general public. Motorsport Asia is affiliated with many corporations including circuit managements, manufacturers and motorsport associations in the past and at present.