Formula One looks to the streets of Asia
(Reuters)Updated: 2007-01-19 10:45
Formula One has Monaco as its jewel in the crown, but another glamorous street circuit would always be welcome.
There is no shortage of candidates and three of them have attracted attention in the last week as teams began their annual ritual of unveiling new cars and putting on a show for the sponsors.
Would-be promoters from Delhi, Singapore and Valencia have all been whispering in the ear of Bernie Ecclestone, the Formula One supremo who makes things happen, about their plans.
The 76-year-old was in Valencia, the Spanish Mediterranean city that hosts the America's Cup yacht race this year, on Monday for the circus and fireworks spectacular that launched McLaren's new car.
Valencia already has a circuit, where double world champion Fernando Alonso tested his new McLaren for the first time on Wednesday, but more recent talk has been about racing in the city streets.
Alonso gave a hint of what that could be like when he and team mate Lewis Hamilton blasted their cars along the roads around the futuristic Arts and Sciences complex on Monday. Some estimates put the crowd at more than 200,000 strong.
Yet Ecclestone, who has cut this year's calendar to 17 races while talking about as many as 20 in the future, refused to raise hopes.
"We have a race in Spain already," he told British magazine Autosport. "Valencia's suitability as a grand prix venue has nothing to do with what went on at the McLaren launch. Either the place is good or it isn't. And we still have to see."
SINGAPORE STREETS
No country has two races this year, although Ecclestone would undoubtedly like a second in the United States and many in Formula One long for a return to California and the streets of Long Beach.
With the exception of Japan's Fuji, returning after a break of 30 years, there are no new circuits either but that could change next year.
The Singaporean media have been getting increasingly excited about the prospects of the country hosting a grand prix as early as 2008 on a street layout drawn up by Hermann Tilke, Formula One's leading circuit designer.
Tilke told the Straits Times this week that he had visited Singapore seven months ago to begin work on designing a 4.8km circuit that, like Monaco, passes a roll-call of local landmarks.
He said nothing major needed to be done to get the track ready, beyond some re-surfacing.
Unlike Monaco, the race would be held at night -- making it an ideal fit for European television schedules and adding a glamorous event to a region of prime importance to the manufacturers who now dominate the sport.
But nothing has been decided yet.
"We are constantly on the lookout for investors and event organisers who wish to bring major events, such as the F1 Grand Prix, to Singapore," said a spokesperson for Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry.
"Several parties have expressed an interest in bringing F1 GP to Singapore,
although no firm proposal has been received."
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