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Formula 1 circuit bosses have said they need to make their venues more spectator-friendly to compete with attractions in other areas of the entertainment business.

Speaking at the Motor Sport Business Forum in Monaco, representatives from Abu Dhabi, the Nurburgring, Sepang and Silverstone agreed that tracks must offer more than just a grand prix to keep the fans coming through the turnstiles.

Sepang chief executive Razlan Razali said: “Spectators are very important for us, especially when the main source of revenue is ticket sales. So how do we get them to come to our track to watch the main races, like F1 and MotoGP? We have to do more for them in providing offerings that are more than racing.

“We have offered more interactive activities with F1 drivers and MotoGP riders, but now we have to work out how to get the girlfriends and females there – how do we get them to watch the race? We have to think of children’s activities, music concerts for the masses, for them to enjoy more than just racing.

“It is about a full range of entertainment we can offer them over a weekend. Circuits have to change their traditional mindset by introducing entertainment elements.”

Walter Kafitz, the former chief executive of the Nurburgring who is the circuit’s representative on the F1 Commission, added: “I think circuits are part of the entertainment business and not only part of a sports business.

“We do not really compete among each other but we do compete with other entertainment events. People can go there or go somewhere else. We want to attract them to the circuits and therefore we have to remember that unlike, for example in football, people stay at circuits at least for one day and hopefully the whole weekend.

“They have to be better entertained, not just by one major race, but by support races and other entertainment offers. We have to make them happy so that when they leave the circuit they want to come back. That is our business.”