Middle East crisis continues to cause global motorsport chaos

SUPER GT has officially postponed its Sepang 300km round scheduled for June, marking the latest casualty in motorsport's growing logistical nightmare stemming from the escalating Middle East crisis.

The decision follows mounting pressure from the Malaysian government, which withdrew its backing for the event amid the ongoing US-Israel-Iran conflict that has sent freight costs spiralling and created operational chaos across the motorsport calendar.

The Gran Turismo Association and event promoter HARO Sports cited the "escalating and uncertain situation in the Middle East, which has introduced significant operational and logistical challenges" alongside "substantial increases in international freight costs and air travel expenses."

"Firstly, our prayers are with all those impacted by the current crisis in the Middle East," said HARO managing partner Fahrizal Hasan. 

"We pray for a peaceful and amicable resolution. While this was not what we envisioned for the second year running of the Malaysian round, we would like to thank GTA, the teams and all valued stakeholders for their strong support and understanding in these challenging times."

GTA chairman Masaaki Bandoh added: "This was a difficult decision to make, but we would like to thank our Japanese fans, entrants, sponsors, and media for their understanding."

Should a replacement race not be found, it would leave SUPER GT's 2026 campaign at just seven rounds, the fewest since 2004. 

The ripple effects extend far beyond Japanese touring cars, with Formula 1 teams also grappling with inflated logistics costs that could potentially affect the sport's expanding calendar.

F1 has also opted to call off the April races in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

The crisis has already forced several motorsport series to reassess their international operations, raising questions about the viability of global racing programmes amid continued geopolitical instability and soaring transport costs.