2006 FORMULA 1 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix

In the mid 1990s, Malaysia was undergoing a huge change. Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia's Prime Minister was determined that by 2020, the country would be a fully industrialised nation. The best way to do this, it was thought, was through the auto trade.

The nation's number one oil company, Petronas, began investing heavily in Formula One with Sauber, and Malaysia's national car company, Proton, bought Lotus Engineering. The most extravagant part of the plan however was the building of a multimedia 'supercorridor', linking Kuala Lumpur's new international airport with the capital city itself. Mahathir ordered that a Grand Prix track be constructed too, and not just any track. He wanted to create a track that would be the envy of the world in terms of its facilities and technology. What he got was the Sepang International Circuit, and it did not disappoint.

Designed by Hermann Tilke, Sepang is one of the most technical circuits in Formula One. The combination of long high-speed straights, and tight twisting complexes make the track very complicated, but also perfect for overtaking as the track itself is very wide. The drivers love it and, along with Malaysia's distinct atmosphere, it makes for an experience unique in Formula One.

The circuit is 3.5km away from the New Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The North-South Central Link Expressway will get you from KL itself to the circuit in about an hour. Turn off at the Elite expressway for circuit access.

From the airport, the circuit is only a 10 minute drive away. If you don't have a hire car, regular shuttle services are laid on from the airport to the circuit.

Numerous rail services run out of KL, Seremban and Nilai to the Sepang circuit and will take between 20 and 40 minutes.

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Race times
Pos	Driver	Time	*P*	Laps	Gap	Hotlap		Pts
1	Torrente	52:56.735		33	0	1:33.870		103
2	Kaiser_46	52:37.174	+25	33	-19.5	1:33.768		90
3	Rexakosix	53:07.918		33	+11.1	1:34.264		75
4	curisam	53:40.452		33	+43.7	1:34.878		65
5	raka100	53:46.645		33	+49.9	1:34.263		61
6	Pipo2005	54:36.839		33	+1:40.1	1:34.560		55
7	quideco	55:00.154		33	+2:03.4	1:36.923		48
8	cuest	52:11.566		32	+1 Lap	1:35.024		44
9	davidmd	53:47.831		32	+1 Lap	1:35.603		40
10	caspita	53:23.456		31	+2 Laps	1:35.877		36
11	Skymota	53:08.658	+25	31	+2 Laps	1:36.714		33
12	haedmoli	44:02.458		24	+9 Laps	1:40.307		30
13	fabrikart	38:21.357		23	+10 Laps	1:35.299		27
14	AleMaineri	27:29.867		16	+17 Laps	1:35.113		24
15	800	23:47.774	+25	13	+20 Laps	1:38.234		22
16	dviejo	53:52.993		32	+1 Lap	1:36.745		0
17	Althor_GP4	35:04.686		21	+12 Laps	1:36.638		0
18	mamego	27:08.234		15	+18 Laps	1:41.732		0

Qualification times
		Sectors			Partials
Pos	Driver	S1	S2	S3	P1	P2	Time	*P*	Gap	F		Pts
1	Rexakosix	31.8	31.3	30.3	31.892	1:03.193	1:33.495	0	0.000	11		10
2	Mr_Speed	32.1	31.4	30.2	32.133	1:03.616	1:33.866	0	0.371	16		7
3	Torrente	32.1	31.5	30.4	32.167	1:03.743	1:34.218	0	0.723	17		5
4	Pipo2005	32.2	31.5	30.5	32.222	1:03.746	1:34.284	0	0.789	10		3
5	AleMaineri	32.1	31.6	30.7	32.145	1:03.817	1:34.616	0	1.121	10		1
6	raka100	32.3	31.7	30.6	32.359	1:04.067	1:34.722	0	1.227	12		0
7	Paul	32.3	31.6	31.1	32.370	1:03.996	1:35.157	0	1.662	12		0
8	fabrikart	32.7	32.2	30.8	32.740	1:04.986	1:35.864	0	2.369	15		0
9	cuest	32.7	31.8	31.6	32.781	1:04.660	1:36.329	0	2.834	18		0
10	caspita	32.9	32.4	31.3	32.983	1:05.443	1:36.794	0	3.299	14		0
11	dviejo	33.6	32.1	31.2	33.642	1:05.793	1:37.023	0	3.528	12		0
12	Althor_GP4	33.3	32.4	31.7	33.387	1:05.801	1:37.501	0	4.006	16		0
13	quideco	33.6	33.2	33.0	33.635	1:06.853	1:39.922	0	6.427	17		0
14	haedmoli	34.5	33.6	32.0	34.527	1:08.222	1:40.263	0	6.768	13		0
15	davidmd	32.9	33.1	31.0	32.901	1:06.013	1:37.019	4:25	3.524	19		0
16	mamego	34.0	33.7	32.0	34.098	1:07.801	1:39.826	7:24	6.331	2		0
17	curisam	32.0	32.3	30.5	32.053	1:04.384	1:34.910	9:59	1.415	18		0

Practice times
		Sectors			Partials
Pos	Driver	S1	S2	S3	P1	P2	Time	Gap
1	Mr_Speed	31.1	30.0	29.6	31.175	1:01.226	1:30.832	+0.000
2	Torrente	31.2	30.2	29.5	31.291	1:01.522	1:31.096	+0.264
3	Rexakosix	31.6	30.4	29.8	31.663	1:02.079	1:31.974	+1.142
4	Kaiser_46	31.4	30.7	29.7	31.481	1:02.259	1:31.984	+1.152
5	curisam	31.5	30.7	30.0	31.501	1:02.209	1:32.276	+1.444
6	cuest	31.6	30.7	29.9	31.624	1:02.364	1:32.361	+1.529
7	raka100	31.7	30.7	29.8	31.771	1:02.541	1:32.437	+1.605
8	Pipo2005	31.5	31.3	29.8	31.588	1:02.943	1:32.787	+1.955
9	AleMaineri	31.6	31.1	29.9	31.654	1:02.845	1:32.836	+2.004
10	fabrikart	32.1	30.7	30.0	32.110	1:02.837	1:32.863	+2.031
11	Paul	31.6	31.2	30.3	31.634	1:02.869	1:33.202	+2.370
12	davidmd	32.1	31.5	30.2	32.197	1:03.770	1:34.064	+3.232
13	caspita	32.4	31.5	30.5	32.471	1:04.013	1:34.515	+3.683
14	Althor_GP4	32.8	31.4	30.7	32.811	1:04.262	1:34.997	+4.165
15	Skymota	32.8	31.7	30.5	32.803	1:04.576	1:35.152	+4.320
16	quideco	32.1	32.0	31.0	32.124	1:04.139	1:35.208	+4.376
17	800	32.5	32.2	30.5	32.507	1:04.785	1:35.313	+4.481
18	dviejo	33.2	31.3	31.0	33.268	1:04.577	1:35.578	+4.746
19	haedmoli	32.4	32.1	31.1	32.432	1:04.543	1:35.662	+4.830
20	JHN	32.7	32.0	30.8	32.746	1:04.837	1:35.715	+4.883
21	Neltharion	33.2	31.8	31.5	33.282	1:05.104	1:36.611	+5.779
22	canijo	34.7	35.8	32.3	34.719	1:10.593	1:42.895	+12.063
23	mamego	34.7	35.2	32.9	34.752	1:09.976	1:42.897	+12.065