01 Oct NIK AHMAD: FI TEAM NEED NOT REGISTER WITH SCO

The 1Malaysia F1 Team (1MF1T), slated to join the Formula One (F1) race next year, need not register with the Sports Commissioner’s Office (SCO).Sports Commissioner Datuk Nik Mahmud Nik Yusof said this was because 1MF1T was an F1 racing team and not a sports body or organiser of motoring sports in the country.”

As such, it need not register with SCO. However, I am not sure of its status. We will study the status of 1Malaysia F1 Team and decide whether to classify it as a team or an F1 sports body,” he told Bernama here Thursday.Nik Mahmud said that if 1Malaysia F1 Team Sdn Bhd, the company behind 1MF1T was sports body responsible for organising F1 motoring programmes, then it should register with SCO.”However, if it is classified as a team, then it must be supported by the Motoring Association of Malaysia (MAM) so that it gets a racing licence at Sepang International Circuit (SIC),” he said.

When contacted, MAM said the racing licence in Malaysia had been issued by the Automobile Association of Malaysia (AAM) which had been given the right by FIA, motorsports world governing body.Its chief executive Mia Sharizman Ismail said 1Malaysia F1 Team Sdn Bhd was established as a company for racing and only had to register with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM).

She said MAM only helped in development programmes in terms of manpower or organizing races at low level.”The F1 team is not only about its hundreds of staff but is also involved in organizing local races, developing drivers and technical aspects of the motoring industry.”Mia Sharizman said MAM’s role was to find and polish drivers with the potential of making it as F1 drivers via go-kart and single seater races.– BERNAMA