OCTOBER 8, 2001

Malaysia race of champions called off

PRIOR to the US-led reprisal attacks on Afghanistan, the end-of-season American Le Mans Series sports car race at Sepang had already been called off.

Malaysia, as a Muslim country, was always going to be a close call for race action in the event of military strikes despite its physical and indeed political distance from Osama bin Laden and the Taliban government of Afghanistan.

Series coordinator Scott Atherton said: "In the light of world political uncertainty it seemed unwise to go ahead."