Thailand To Host Bangkok Grand Prix In 2014: Govt

[george]

Thailand to host Bangkok Grand Prix in 2014: govt

Bernie Ecclestone. File photo

Thai government claims to have struck deal to host Bangkok Grand Prix in 2014 http://t.co/wxRf90G5 #thai #thailand #GrandPrix

Thailand's government sports authority says it has struck an in-principle deal to host a Formula One race in Bangkok in 2014, with negotiations ongoing about the hosting fee, according to a report in The Nation newspaper.

Kanokphand Chulakasem, governor of the Sports Authority of Thailand, was quoted as saying "Formula One has decided to include Thailand in its 2014 season calendar" with a race slated for November. [read more ]

Full story: http://www.independe...14-8216105.html

[Samedeepwaterasyou]

Don't bother, the grand prix is already on 24/7 , 7 days a week.

Just watch get on the expressways and watch in awe.

[rheinwiese]

Singapore pays a hosting fee 1.2 billion baht ($39.2 million) per year.

They gonna need very deep pockets to pull this off.

But heck, the taxpayer shoulders a largest chunk anyway.

[Nisa]

Great news if they get the final deal hammered out..

[lujanit]

From reading the full article it sounds like it will be a street circuit. If Singapore is anything to go by it will be a night time event to accommodate the european audience. If they follow the manner in which Singapore conducts the race it could be a big money spinner for the government and the economy in general. From memory it cost Singapore $120 million to construct the infrastructure etc and they got that back in year one. The government put a 30% loading on every hotel room booked during the week of the race.

[LuckyLew]

Do they have a race track already made in Thailand?

I have seen how slow construction is here, unless it is

already made, there is little to no chance it will be ready

for 2014.

There is a house beside my condo that has been under

construction for 18 months .... so far

IMO it is a stupid event for Thailand to host ... money could

be spend on so many better things ... such as education ....

Then again Thai gov't do not want the people educated.

F1 is an event for the rich and most Thais cannot afford

[apetley]

If they actually host a GP it will be fantastic news.

If they solve the logistics involved it will be superhuman!

[asiawatcher]

It's all about greed. The more money coming in the more that can be skimmed. Thailand streets are nothing like Singaporean streets and could not handle fast cars unless a complete reworking was undertaken - large construction contracts - allowing the Govt to make excuses for ridiculously high public works contracts for the corrupt contractors to skim.

And then imagine giving companies like MCOT or any Thai channel the right to do the live broadcast? They would not have a clue where to point the cameras and then broadcast in low resolution as they do now. Someone better do a huge audit on the logistics if this is to have any success.

[GentlemanJim]

Stand by for traffic conditions in Bangkok to become a living nightmare for 12 months as hasty resurfacing to the roads is done. Mmmm hope there aren't to many sinkholes on the chosen route. The infrastructure of Singapore is very different to Bangkok. Contemplate for a moment if you will how life in the city will be for 1 month before and 2-3 weeks after the event. It's a stupid idea and likely to be chucking it down if they run a night race at that time of year. There will be at least 6 weeks of barriers up in the city. Should be good business for the sky train then.

[ratcatcher]

"The Other Paper" refers to two potential venues.

1. Ratchadamnoen Avenue

2. Muang Thong Thani.

The Ratchadamnoen site is, I believe, in the vicinity of Khao San Rd and Sanam Luang. Could it be that F1 race cars will be hurtling around Sanam Luang, the Grand Palace and Wat Po areas back up to Democracy Monument?.

The Red Bull connection here is strong and will be a source of big money as well as the ....Bhakdi families Singha and Chang. Heck the Yoovidhya (Red Bull)family even has a spare Ferrari driver waiting for a ride.By 2014, Mr Thaksin may be back in time to turn on the 5 red lights, making the area another red-light district and even more popular with tourists.

However, in reality, I can't see it happening, but then again, we may find that there's a Myanmar GP and a Cambodian GP in the works too.

Basically it's all up to Bernie .

[Nisa]

Do they have a race track already made in Thailand?

I have seen how slow construction is here, unless it is

already made, there is little to no chance it will be ready

for 2014.

There is a house beside my condo that has been under

construction for 18 months .... so far

IMO it is a stupid event for Thailand to host ... money could

be spend on so many better things ... such as education ....

Then again Thai gov't do not want the people educated.

F1 is an event for the rich and most Thais cannot afford

It would bring an additions of 10's of thousands of what you describe as "rich" people into the country which in turn would dump a lot of money into the economy. Also, the Grand Prix is held on city streets and speeds vary depending on the country's street (circuit). I'm not a big fan but lived in LA and have been in Singapore when the events were held. I believe top speed in Singapore is about 185 MPH and Long Beach is 240 MPH..

[Nisa]

Singapore pays a hosting fee 1.2 billion baht ($39.2 million) per year.

They gonna need very deep pockets to pull this off.

But heck, the taxpayer shoulders a largest chunk anyway.

Current proposal is for 40% of this fee to be covered by sponsors and typically people host such events because it is an investment in terms of increased visitors, especially to a country like Thailand which would see many more people visit the country who might not have. Basically like a huge advertisement.

[sjjmmi]

Do they have a race track already made in Thailand?

I have seen how slow construction is here, unless it is

already made, there is little to no chance it will be ready

for 2014.

There is a house beside my condo that has been under

construction for 18 months .... so far

IMO it is a stupid event for Thailand to host ... money could

be spend on so many better things ... such as education ....

Then again Thai gov't do not want the people educated.

F1 is an event for the rich and most Thais cannot afford

It would bring an additions of 10's of thousands of what you describe as "rich" people into the country which in turn would dump a lot of money into the economy. Also, the Grand Prix is held on city streets and speeds vary depending on the country's street (circuit). I'm not a big fan but lived in LA and have been in Singapore when the events were held. I believe top speed in Singapore is about 185 MPH and Long Beach is 240 MPH..

Think you will find the is max speed of 320km now days from the cars and can be done on all current tracks

Edited October 18, 2012 by sjjmmi

[Nisa]

Another step forward for Thailand on the world stage and no doubt it will be seen solely as a doom and gloom issue by a significant number of posters..

[ratcatcher]

I couldn't help noticing these words at the beginning of the article.....

"Thai government claims to have struck deal......................"

Recently Thai Government claims seem to be proliferating.

[Nisa]

Do they have a race track already made in Thailand?

I have seen how slow construction is here, unless it is

already made, there is little to no chance it will be ready

for 2014.

There is a house beside my condo that has been under

construction for 18 months .... so far

IMO it is a stupid event for Thailand to host ... money could

be spend on so many better things ... such as education ....

Then again Thai gov't do not want the people educated.

F1 is an event for the rich and most Thais cannot afford

It would bring an additions of 10's of thousands of what you describe as "rich" people into the country which in turn would dump a lot of money into the economy. Also, the Grand Prix is held on city streets and speeds vary depending on the country's street (circuit). I'm not a big fan but lived in LA and have been in Singapore when the events were held. I believe top speed in Singapore is about 185 MPH and Long Beach is 240 MPH..

Think you will find the is max speed of 320km now days from the cars and can be done on all current tracks

Singapore - "top speeds approach 297 km/h (185 mph)" http://www.vivaf1.com/singapore.php

Long Beach "Top speed is around 240 mph" (385 km.h) http://www.sub5zero.com/2010-toyota-grand-prix-long-beach-indycar-alms-world-challenge-recap-results/

[Cloggie]

May I suggest to hold the GP in Pattaya, if I close my eyes I can see the GP already : Banglamung => Naklua => Beach Road => Walking Street => over the hill back to Second Road, left at Soi 6

Can't wait.....

[MaxLee]

Imagine the whole traffic jam because if the construction work going in to prepare the racing tracks

I pray to the Formula 1 committee to decline Yongluck's suggestion. Pretty please....

Edited October 18, 2012 by MaxLee

[Soupdragon]

Race fans all over the world are saying to the wife "Hey honey I am planning on popping over to Bangkok for a week to see the GP".

"Like hell you are" is the reply.

[ezflip]

Old joke from Montreal, Canada. The only good drivers In Montreal last only 3 days during the year in the city. During the Grand Prix weekend. Otherwise...

[kurnell]

I hope they come down soi 39, then i don't need to buy tickets

[Nisa]

May I suggest to hold the GP in Pattaya, if I close my eyes I can see the GP already : Banglamung => Naklua => Beach Road => Walking Street => over the hill back to Second Road, left at Soi 6

Can't wait.....

Not sure of the exact route your talking about but when this came up the other day in conversation with a friend, I too visualized it in Pattaya (Beach Road) .... would make for good TV but I think politically and logistically the Bangkok choice shouldn't surprise us..

Edited October 18, 2012 by Nisa

[RKASA]

If you build it they will come

[sjjmmi]

Do they have a race track already made in Thailand?

I have seen how slow construction is here, unless it is

already made, there is little to no chance it will be ready

for 2014.

There is a house beside my condo that has been under

construction for 18 months .... so far

IMO it is a stupid event for Thailand to host ... money could

be spend on so many better things ... such as education ....

Then again Thai gov't do not want the people educated.

F1 is an event for the rich and most Thais cannot afford

It would bring an additions of 10's of thousands of what you describe as "rich" people into the country which in turn would dump a lot of money into the economy. Also, the Grand Prix is held on city streets and speeds vary depending on the country's street (circuit). I'm not a big fan but lived in LA and have been in Singapore when the events were held. I believe top speed in Singapore is about 185 MPH and Long Beach is 240 MPH..

Think you will find the is max speed of 320km now days from the cars and can be done on all current tracks

Singapore - "top speeds approach 297 km/h (185 mph)" http://www.vivaf1.com/singapore.php

Long Beach "Top speed is around 240 mph" (385 km.h) http://www.sub5zero....-recap-results/

The top speed ever acheived by a formula one car during a race was 369.9 km/h (229.8 mph) set during the 2004 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Italy by driver Antônio Pizzonia of the BMW Williams F1 team driving the FW26 powered by a BMW 3.0 litre v10.

[Soutpeel]

With Red Bull sponsoring and one of the teams being Ferrari, one hopes the Thai police stay out the way...

One assumes based on the outrage against Red Bull due to recent events, one assumes large numbers of TV's finest will be boycotting this event and writing to the F1 governing body in protest ?

Edited October 18, 2012 by Soutpeel

[lizardtongue]

If it is actually held, no doubt it will be seen in many circles as a step forward, it is without doubt a big money maker, my concerns are where the money ends up!

Thailand so wants to be recognized on the world stage as a developed country the problem is that they are trying to run before they can walk!

They make all the right noises, 'stamp out corruption' 'all Gov. dealings to be transparent' 'education reforms' 'medical care' etc etc

Sad truth is that nothing will change in the foreseeable future!

[Soutpeel]

If it is actually held, no doubt it will be seen in many circles as a step forward, it is without doubt a big money maker, my concerns are where the money ends up!

Thailand so wants to be recognized on the world stage as a developed country the problem is that they are trying to run before they can walk!

They make all the right noises, 'stamp out corruption' 'all Gov. dealings to be transparent' 'education reforms' 'medical care' etc etc

Sad truth is that nothing will change in the foreseeable future!

I dont know why you are so worried all the tourist police will be fluent in English in 6 months....getting set up for F1 race....piece of cake...the goverment has spoken

[ttelise]

Do they have a race track already made in Thailand?

I have seen how slow construction is here, unless it is

already made, there is little to no chance it will be ready

for 2014.

There is a house beside my condo that has been under

construction for 18 months .... so far

IMO it is a stupid event for Thailand to host ... money could

be spend on so many better things ... such as education ....

Then again Thai gov't do not want the people educated.

F1 is an event for the rich and most Thais cannot afford

It would bring an additions of 10's of thousands of what you describe as "rich" people into the country which in turn would dump a lot of money into the economy. Also, the Grand Prix is held on city streets and speeds vary depending on the country's street (circuit). I'm not a big fan but lived in LA and have been in Singapore when the events were held. I believe top speed in Singapore is about 185 MPH and Long Beach is 240 MPH..

240 mph? Maybe in a jet flying over head. Have raced GT3 Cup and RSR there. 160 - 170 was about limit at LB. Some of the prototype cars may get close to 200.

[Beng]

November could still be wet in BKK.

[ttelise]

Do they have a race track already made in Thailand?

I have seen how slow construction is here, unless it is

already made, there is little to no chance it will be ready

for 2014.

There is a house beside my condo that has been under

construction for 18 months .... so far

IMO it is a stupid event for Thailand to host ... money could

be spend on so many better things ... such as education ....

Then again Thai gov't do not want the people educated.

F1 is an event for the rich and most Thais cannot afford

It would bring an additions of 10's of thousands of what you describe as "rich" people into the country which in turn would dump a lot of money into the economy. Also, the Grand Prix is held on city streets and speeds vary depending on the country's street (circuit). I'm not a big fan but lived in LA and have been in Singapore when the events were held. I believe top speed in Singapore is about 185 MPH and Long Beach is 240 MPH..

Think you will find the is max speed of 320km now days from the cars and can be done on all current tracks

Singapore - "top speeds approach 297 km/h (185 mph)" http://www.vivaf1.com/singapore.php

Long Beach "Top speed is around 240 mph" (385 km.h) http://www.sub5zero.com/2010-toyota-grand-prix-long-beach-indycar-alms-world-challenge-recap-results/

Haha, this is what happens when educated by Google. That is top speed of the car and not the track. Car could hit 240 mph if drove it straight down a runway or something similar.