South Korean Grand Prix in jeopardy
The South Korean Grand Prix is apparently in jeopardy of not making the deadline of completion, with Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone stating that he is worried that the race may not go ahead.
As it stands the track has not been completed which, understandably, would make racing pretty tricky. The race is due to take place on October 24th but the necessary inspections of the circuit are yet to be completed, as work slowed down due to bad weather.
Ecclestone voiced his concerns to the BBC at the Singapore Grand Prix where he said, "It's not good. It should have been inspected six weeks ago.
"We normally have a 90-day check before a race and now we are sort of putting this off. It's quite dangerous what we've done actually.
"I mean, it's a case of 'do we cancel the race or not?' They say it is all going to be okay, so we hope they are right."
This is not good news because the season has been shaping up in the most exciting fashion seen in Formula One in years. With five drivers still in contention to snatch the title the last thing anyone needs is for a race to be suspended or called off and derail the excitement.
The fact that Ecclestone has said that the situation is dangerous is somewhat ominous as well; no-one wants to see any unsavoury incidences detract from the action.
However, the officials in charge of the organisation of the Grand Prix put a much more positive spin on things saying that they were taking Ecclestone's remarks "seriously" but there is no doubt in their minds that the race would run as agreed.
"We will have no problem in hosting the race on October 24th as we have almost completed work," they said.
It would seem that it’s a bit like a "hurry up and sort it out" from Ecclestone. The Formula One big-wig is not one to suffer fools and as a result he is probably just flexing his muscles and reminding the Korean officials who runs the show in Formula One. They work to his schedule not the other way around.
They will almost certainly be ready, it will be debacle if they didn’t, with alternatives sparse as an event of this magnitude can’t exactly be rescheduled or put forward on a whim. The track has been in the pipeline since 2006 so it’s not like they were short of time to complete it, but it would seem it is going right to the wire.
There’s no doubt that the officials will want to get the track in place by the big day, for the sake of their Koreas if nothing else.
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