Local petrol heads gear up for Korea’s first Formula One
An estimated 20,000 spectators watched the Korean debut of the F1 machine driven by BMW’s Nick Heidfeld (inset) in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul, on Saturday. Provided by KAVO
The demo driving by an F1 machine named “F1 City Shock” was the country’s first, meant to celebrate the planned F1 Grand Prix in 2010, which will take place in Yeongam, South Jeolla.
“I was impressed by the delight of the Korean fans, which I didn’t really expect,” said Heidfeld, after showcasing a series of scorching turns that sent a cloud of black smoke into the air.
Korea is the world’s fifth-largest automaker, but it is not on the list of around 20 F1 host countries, a list that includes Japan and China.
Although Korea has an estimated 300,000 or more motor racers - both professional and amateur - leading automakers such as Hyundai and Kia have been stingy about spending on motor racing events.
Their line of thinking appears to be: sponsoring motor sports does not guarantee returns that correspond to the size of investment.
On the other hand, global carmakers such as Ferrari, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Honda set aside 400 billion won ($316 million) respectively to run their own F1 teams.
Two years back, the South Jeolla provincial government signed a contract with Formula One Management to stage a Grand Prix annually for seven years starting 2010. Construction to build a racing circuit tentatively named Korea International Circuit is now underway in Yeongam. At present, there is not a single auto racing circuit in Korea that reaches international standards.
Launched in 1950, the F1 Grand Prix attracts 4 million spectators per year, and about 600 million watch the races around the globe on TV. An F1 meeting in Korea would be tantamount to holding the Korea-Japan World Cup in 2002, which lured in 320,000 visitors to both host nations.
According to the South Jeolla provincial government and Korea Auto Valley Operation, the operator of F1 in Korea, the race is expected to make an annual net profit of 15.9 billion won in admission fees and sponsorship and create 20,000 jobs.
Korea’s National Assembly is now bracing to legislate a special bill on providing financial aid of up to 120 billion won for the F1.
“We hope that the source of the support for the global event will go beyond the domain of the local government of South Jeolla but the whole country,” said Kim Jae-ho, an official at Korea Auto Valley Operation.
By Seo Ji-eun Staff Reporter[spring@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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