The first Grand Prix was held at Johor Bahru. It was organized by Almarhum Sultan Sir Ismail ibni Almarhum Sultan Sir Ibrahim in 1940, at that time he was still a Tunku Mahkota Johor. The main objective of the Grand Prix was to collect fund for war.
4 races released in the event lasted for two days. Participation is only for the invited participants only. Invitation sent to all affected areas in Johor, including Singapore, Bangkok, Penang and Melaka.
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| First Grand Prix in Malaysia |
The second Grand Prix was organized by Singapore Motor Club and supported by Tunku Mahkota Johor in 1948. This time the race only last in one day with 4 races released. Two motorcycles category and two cars category.
Two Motorcycles category are under 350cc and above 351cc. Both categories of motorcycle is 5 laps. For the categories of car, the first is for 1500cc and below with 5 laps and the second category is for Formula One (F1) 1500cc supercharged and 4500cc supercharged with 10 laps.
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| Derek Bovet (60) and Saw Kim Tiat (24) in 1952 Johor Grand Prix |
In 1952, the laps has been increased to 35 laps. The categories also have been added from 5 categories in 1950 to 7 categories in 1952. There were 88 participants in 1950 and 101 participants in 1952. The largest number of viewers was recorded in 1952 with 35,000 spectators watch the race LIVE.
In 1952, 4 Grandstand was built to enable audiences to enjoy all the action as much as possible. 1 Grandstand built at the corner of Zoo Johor and Ayer Molek Prison. Another two of the Grandstand was built in front of the Start / Finish line. Ticket price is set at 5 "Straits Dollars" and it can be purchased at Singapore and Johor Bahru.
The length of one lap is 3.7km with the combination of straight and bend road. The race started in front of Main Post Office Johor Bahru with a straight passage through the Pantai Lido, known as Tai Heng Road at that time, now known as the Jalan Sultan Ibrahim. Racers will then turn right towards the Zoo Johor near Masjid Abu Bakar and going through the hill at Jalan Gertak Merah. Then the racers will sprint down the hill before turn right again in front of Ayer Molek Prison. Straight road along Jalan Ayer Molek allows each rider to accelerate to the finish line in front of the Main Post Office Johor Bahru.
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| Freedy Pope driving Jaguar in 1953 Johor Grand Prix |
Most of the racer who joined the race were rich people from Singapore and Malaysia. President of the Singapore Motor Club at that time, Freddy Pope driving Jaguar XK120S is the champion in 1953. Grand Prix Johore has not been spared from the tragedy when in 1963, Kee Yong Nam representing the Malayan and known as Fatso Yong died after the car Jaguar D-Type, which is driven at a speed of 200km / h hit the pole and split in two.
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| Au Nai Fai driving Jaguar in 1953 Johor Grand Prix |
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| 1952 Johor Grand Prix |
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| 1960 Johor Grand Prix |
This is a rare history about old school Grand Prix in Malaysia. Treasure it while you can..
Source/Sumber
Johore Grand Prix http://paddockbox.com
Tahukah anda, Perlumbaan Grand Prix
pertama di anjurkan di Tanah Melayu..
Glory Days of races in JB http://www1.nst.com.my/
My mother tells me that Johor was the first in
Malaysia to host a grand prix..
