F1: 19 Years Of Bittersweet Memories For Sic Media Officer

SEPANG (Selangor), Oct 2 (Bernama) - Responsibilities shouldered by a media officer can be extremely challenging especially when it involves organising an international event that requires steely determination in handling hundreds of foreign media practitioners from various countries. It was one of responsibilities shouldered by Azhar Ghazali, a former Sepang International Circuit (SIC) media officer, who was appointed to his post before the inaugural Formula One (F1) Malaysian Grand Prix in 1999. Sharing his 10-year working experience with SIC from 1999 to 2009, he recalled that he was shocked when he was instructed to fly to Italy to attend a meeting with the International Automobile Federation (FIA) on his first day of reporting at work. “On my first day at work, I was sent to the Monza Circuit for a meeting with the FIA to get the first briefing on what to do as a media chief. “I was given a list of logistics preparation at SIC but as I was very new and had no knowledge in the field of motoring, the FIA described me as unprepared and ineligible to handle the task,” he recalled. However, with support from various parties, especially SIC itself, gave Azhar the strength to take on the responsibility well until the inaugural Malaysian Grand Prix was crowned as the best F1 race in 1999. “Due to the excellent cooperation from all parties, we succeeded in executing our responsibilities that the Malaysian Grand Prix was named as the best F1 venue,” he said. Meanwhile, for SIC media officer Nor Lina Ayob, the first woman to assume the post, she admitted that there were a handful of people who doubted her ability to carry out her responsibilities. However, thanks to her deep love of motoring world, apart from encouragement from family and friends, she managed to dispel any negative perceptions against her and took it as a challenge. “With a bit of experience I gained while undergoing industrial training with SIC, coupled with strong support from my family, I was determined to prove that I could execute the task properly,” she said. Now, after 19-years of organising F1, SIC bid farewell to one of the most prestigious event in the world’s motor sports calendar after the Malaysian government announced that was ending the contract to organise the F1 race from 2018. -- BERNAMA