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The Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix — relocated from Bahrain to Malaysia due to regional instability — drew an estimated 100,000 spectators on its opening day at Sepang International Circuit (SIC) on Friday (2 October).
By early evening, the transport network had stopped working.
Fans leaving the circuit after the day’s sessions found no functional queue system, no signage, and no buses.
Instead, they found a single mass of tens of thousands of people pressing toward shuttle hubs at Mitsui Outlet Park and KLIA Long Term Car Park, in the rain, in 34-degree heat, with no shade and no information.
The wait stretched to four hours.
Some fans reported boarding their shuttle after 9:00 PM.
The buses that were supposed to arrive every 10 to 15 minutes were caught in the same gridlock as everyone else.
The Walk
Thousands did not wait.
A continuous stream of spectators — including families with children — abandoned the transit zones and walked along the unlit hard shoulders of the expressway toward KLIA Terminal 2 and the Mitsui Outlet Park transit hubs.
The stretch ranged from 4.8 to 8.0 kilometres.
The walk was not a choice made lightly.
E-hailing services and private vehicles had been barred from approaching the circuit gates, meaning fans had no option but to reach the outer perimeter checkpoints on foot before a car could collect them.
For those unwilling to stand in a stagnant crowd for four hours, the highway shoulder became the faster route.
Videos circulated on social media showing the hard shoulder lined with people in team merchandise, walking in the dark, alongside high-speed traffic.
The comparison to Train to Busan — the 2016 Korean zombie thriller in which passengers are trapped with no exit — spread across social media.
The Buses Were Ready, The Crowd Was Not in the Plan
Bahrain’s circuit manages a single-day peak of approximately 37,000 spectators. Sepang drew 100,000.
The shuttle fleet was never going to close that gap.
As the event promoter, the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) held full operational control over transport logistics for the relocated race.
The shuttle fleet of 95 vehicles was sized for the crowd BIC had planned for — not the 100,000 who showed up.
Sepang had not seen attendance on that scale since Malaysia’s final Formula 1 race in 2017, nine years ago.
SIC, which hosts MotoGP annually without comparable incidents, said transport operations fell under the Bahrain event promoter’s jurisdiction.
The Second Problem
With official circuit parking passes — priced up to RM800 — sold out, a secondary market for overflow parking passes emerged.
Fans who purchased premium zone passes reported that overflow vehicles were being admitted into their designated bays on a first-come, first-served basis. The premium pass did not guarantee a space.
Selangor police confirmed five active screening checkpoints on all entry roads.
Authorities towed vehicles without verified passes on the spot.
By Saturday, the response had arrived.
Authorities deployed dedicated transit lanes and tightened crowd management ahead of qualifying.
KLIA Ekspres extended services to 1:00 AM and increased train frequency to every 15 to 20 minutes.
Conditions improved significantly.
The damage to public perception, however, had already been documented, shared, and captioned.
READ MORE: Malaysians Test Their Fortitude As Queues To Get Into Sepang Begin
READ MORE: You Cannot Watch F1 From The Roadside At Sepang, PMX Said Watch RTM Instead
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