Formula 1 chief Bernie Ecclestone has expressed doubts over whether October's Korean Grand Prix will go ahead.
Ecclestone hopes the race will happen but says concerns will remain until the Yeongam track passes an FIA inspection.
"It's not good. It should have been inspected six weeks ago," he told BBC Sport at Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix.
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"We will have no problem in hosting the race on October 24 as we have almost completed work," revealed Korea Auto Valley Operation (KAVO) spokesman Kim Jae-Ho.
The Korean International Circuit, which has still to be completed, was initially scheduled for an inspection on 21 September, but that was a public holiday in Korea.
FIA press officer Alexandra Schieren said the new inspection, by FIA race director Charlie Whiting, would take place on 11 October.
"We will rush to complete work and FIA officials will see a complete circuit when they conduct a final inspection in two weeks," said Kim.
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Ecclestone had expressed doubts that the race would go ahead.
"We normally have a 90-day check before a race and now we are sort of putting this off," he stated.
"What we've done is quite dangerous. It's a question of do we cancel the race or not? They say everything will be OK - we have to hope they're right."
The Korea Herald, though, optimistically writes "No worries about Korean Grand Prix: F1 boss".
However, the F1 boss insists that he has no doubts the Yeongam circuit will be ready in time for the inaugural race on Oct. 24.
“We’re happy with the circuit at the moment,” Formula One commercial-rights holder Bernie Ecclestone told The Korea Herald in a telephone interview.
When asked if he was concerned about the rumors, Ecclestone replied, “I don’t take a lot of notice of rumors.”
The Telegraph wrote on the 3rd that Formula One "could break its own rules" to make sure Korea's inaugural race is ready bbali bbali:
Formula One's governing body admitted on Thursday that "a lot of work remains to be completed" at the 120,000-capacity circuit being built in Yeongam, 400km south of Seoul, but told Telegraph Sport it had given organisers until Sept 21 before its final inspection.
Appendix O of the International Sporting Code clearly states that "for permanent circuits, the final inspection should be made not later than 60 days (or 90 days for FIA Formula One World Championship events) before the first international event to be held, at which inspection of all work relating to the track surface, permanent features and safety installations should be completed to the FIA's satisfaction".
The Korean International Circuit is part permanent, part temporary, which means the final inspection for the Oct 24 race ought to have taken place by July 26.
News that Yeongam county would host Formula One racing came in October 2006.
1 comment:
Since it's already drive-worthy, the main issue is whether or not it can accommodate large numbers of spectators:
“Everyone has been a bit doom and gloom about it but it’s actually not that bad,” said Chandhok.
“Looking at the facilities, the garages and team buildings look pretty much finished, and they’re big. I think teams will need to bring around 30% more furniture to fill them, and the grandstands also look reasonably finished.
“The track itself needs a bit more work on the asphalt and the kerbs, but the organisers think it’s all within their time-lines and are confident that it will be ready on time.”
But Ecclestone himself suggests putting up a bunch of tents will do if all the facilities aren't ready just yet.
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