{
  "id": 17748222,
  "title": "Sepang draws record MotoGP crowd for fourth consecutive year despite fake pass scandal",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/02/sepang-draws-record-motogp-crowd-for-fourth-consecutive-year-despite",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-02T05:18:13.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/sports/motor-sports/2026/11/1568939/sepang-draws-record-motogp-crowd-fourth-consecutive-year"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "The Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia, which concluded on Sunday, drew record crowds for the fourth consecutive year, with a total of 196,542 fans attending over three days. This surpassed the previous year's attendance of 190,997 but fell short of the target of 200,000 fans. The event was marred by the sale of fake VIP passes, leading to the arrest of two temporary staff members, who are currently under remand. SIC CEO Azhan Shafriman Hanif expressed satisfaction with the ticket sales, stating that it was the highest since the Covid-19 pandemic, and pledged to implement stricter controls in the future to prevent such occurrences. The MotoGP paddock is set to return to Sepang for the shakedown and pre-season test in January.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Malay Mail",
        "title": "‘See you again at Sepang’: Anwar hails Malaysian MotoGP and thanks fans, organisers",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/02/see-you-again-at-sepang-anwar-hails-malaysian-motogp-and-thanks-fans",
        "published": "2026-11-02T01:04:11.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}