or the people who matter to the sponsors its all about tv ratings dont you know

certainly not to Bernie as that's the only part of the income that goes to the circuit.

not quite true. According to the Canadian GP contract that was leaked onto the net awhile ago if they make a profit 10% goes to Bernie

Do they get a refund if they make a loss?

This does not inspire confidence. Getting lucky? Hoping? WTF happened to project management.

OMG with such a close championship fight it would be shame to lose a round this late in the season.

Knowing Bernie, this is probably just a ploy to make the Koreans look good when the circuit hosts its first race.

Because people will see it as a triumph over adversity in the face of overwhelming odds, rather than a troubled building project?

A script taken from North korea, only missing is the big leader...

They could build a phenomenal track around the streets of Pyongyang, the roads are very wide there.

IMO pushing back the inspection date for a project running late is a big mistake. You just give the organizers more time to muck about before they realize that they need to change their ways, and then they also have lesser time left to fix things which creates its own problems.

Hypothetical question:

Let's say the Korean Circuit fails to be completed in time, and there is no Korean GP. What are the chances Bernie voids the contract with the Korean GP promoters, cut & runs with the Millions he already received (plus the likely penalties), and Korea is stuck with a Class-1 circuit, but no Formula 1 race?

Then tough shit for the promoters.

No Korean Grand Prix is a possibility, but if Bernie does cut and run it's their tough luck for not getting it ready in time.

I doubt Bernie would do that though. If Korea isn't ready we'll see it (completed hopefully) next year.

Sh*t! The homolgation has been pushed back until Oct 11th?

The worst thing is that this would creat another four week break in the championship which would suck (as would the loss of 25 potential points to one of the championship contenders).

October 10 - Japan

October 17 - No race

October 24 - No race (if Korea is cancelled)

October 31 - No race

November 7 - Brazil

Not good.

What happens if the FIA decides the track's not good enough? All the teams, journalists, TV crews, spectators, have to cancel their travel plans in under two weeks? Less than a week for the teams with all their gigantic amount of stuff that needs to be carried early?

Then everyone is screwed basically. I'm sure I read somewhere not too long ago that if Korea doesn't happen this year, that it'll then be banned from being on the calendar next year. Not saying that's true, just saying I'm sure I read somewhere that that's what'll happen.

Sponsors would be furious. TV stations also. That would be total mess.

I think it might be in some rulebook or whatever...

They should have had a back-up plan months ago when the speculation started. Is it too late for Fuji to be an option? At least it is practical.

Far too late to sort out a replacement, plus whether it's allowed is something I'm not convinced about.

As I said, I'm not certain, though it wouldn't surprise me.

It was IIRC, but I don't think Bernie would let that stay out for a year.

Dident they do it in the 80's when they arrived at a track cant remember wich one and all the surface was ripping up so they moved it.

hmm
Im notsure what still needs to be done,
top layer of tarmac and kerbs
walls in some places
building's insides? (you could tent/marque it up really)
saftey wise its more just a check really, as they've had the circuit plan for years, or should be

All silverstone is grass, tarmac, kerbs, arco walls, concreate walls, grave traps, scaffolding grandstands, some roads, and some basic garages no more fancy than my dads old workshop. only fancy bits would be the media room, vip stuff and hospitality area

Nah that was Spa 85 originally due to be held in spring (Zolder's normal spot). The race at Spa was re-scheduled for late summer the same time of year its been held since. If Korea gets cancelled there's no window for re-scheduling it later in the year, obviously.

I don't think you will find it in the rulebook. It might be in the contract though, and I'm sure it's a threat that BE would keep in his armoury.

Not quite. It's true that Spa '85 was re-scheduled for September because the track was breaking up, but the spring slot was always the traditional slot for the Belgian Grand Prix, including on old Spa right back to pre-WWII times. The Belgian Grand Prix was still held in spring in '86 and '87. It was only in 1988 that it moved to the now traditional pre-Monza slot.

As for the original question of moving to another track, that did happen in 1997. The Portuguese Grand Prix was scheduled to be the season finale at Estoril, however doubts were raised about circuit safety early in the season. When Estoril couldn't do get the upgrades put in place, the race was switched to Jerez. But this all happened in the spring/early summer so there was no last minute change. I distictly remember going with my dad to pick up the tickets to the Jerez race in summer after we heard that the race was changed(Jerez being closer to Gibraltar, where I'm from).

It's too late to make a switch now though. It's either Korea or nothing. A Pacific Grand Prix at Fuji would have been interesting though, judging by the 2007-08 races.

The rulebook was already thrown out the window when it comes to the Korean GP issue...

I don't understand why the final FIA inspection was reported again.. I guess everyone wants the race to happen, but leaving the decision just two weeks before the race is ridiculous.

The (deliberate?) lack of information is amusing as well.. compared to Abu Dhabi, it's almost as if the track was being built on the dark side of the moon.

Ok slightly wrong then. Thanks for the correction!

I heard in the radio that the FOM travel agency is not accepting hotel reserves for Korea and that the ones interested in traveling for Korea GP must provide their credit card data, that will be used it the GP is confirmed.

The real problem seems to be the new lair of tarmac, that takes from 20 - 30 days to cure properly, but there were too many rains and the cancellation prob is real.

Double Header?

Can Suzuka run a race in anti-clock wise?

Not without an accident at the Casio Triangle ...

If it doesn't happen this year it'll just disappear surely, 4 hours from anywhere, it's dawned on everyone in the wrong place anyway.

No skin of Bernie's nose, Donington showed us what his attitude is. Nice little earner for this year, he'll still get his fees, and plenty of other options for the future.

If Korea does not happen, and if the race to the WDC is mathmatically still open if a 19th race were to be run after the Abu Dhabi GP on the 14th Nov, then how about a second Abu Dhabi race on the 21st November?

For me, it would be better that Charlie were to go to Korea now and take charge. If they did not look like being ready then a Fuji race on the 24th Oct (or 17th) would be OK.

Well, they are staying for an extra couple of days to test the new Pirelli tyres. Some issues though would obviously be sorting out accomodation for an extra week, 2 races on the same track on consecutive weekends probably wouldn't appeal too much to some people, they'll likely already have flights back to Europe sorted, so having to change them, etc, so there would be some issues with doing that.

Bernie was forecasting a no show for Korea and was thinking about an extra race back in Europe [Spain ?].

Couldn't find the article.

He was looking to arrange one at Aragon, but Aragon said no. There won't be enough time to establish another race to replace it. If Korea doesn't happen, there will be a one-month void in the calendar.

Who is gonna benefit from losing one GP? Webber?

Well then no triangle there.

Certainly it's the leader that benefits from a decrease in the number of available points.

At is stands, he has 11% of the available points as a lead.

Should Korea be cancelled and not replaced, he will have 14.66% of the available points as a lead. It would also mean that Rosberg and Kubica would lose their mathematical chance of victory!

I would be very sad to see F1 lose a championship round at such a late stage.

My second thoughts says that, it should run second unti-clock wise rotation race at Suzuka WITH chances of accidents... how about other run offs...? Laughable idea, perhaps???

The other run-offs should be fine. You'd need them at 130R, Spoon, the hairpin, Denger, possibly Dunlop and the First Curve. 130R is the only place you might encounter a little resistance, since the outer wall is quite close to the circuit. But before you deal with that, you'd have to find some way to get the cars through the Casio Triangle first. The reason why the Casio works is because it's at the end of the lap and the cars have had enough time to filter out a little. But if it's the second corner and with no run-off, it's asking for trouble.

But I doubt there will be a replacement race at all if Korea falls through. It will just be a four-week gap. There won't be enough time to organise another race. It would have an even lower attendance than Istanbul.

I guarantee if Brands Hatch took the race with special fees to reflect the short notice -- with tickets between £50-100 the place would be full. Happened in '83 and '85.

Portimao, Jerez and Aragon could step up pretty quickly too. I don't for a second believe a reserve race will actually happen though, there'll just be a hole in the calendar like when Hungary pulled out of the MotoGP schedule last season.

...not to mention Nürburgring, Imola, Magny-Cours or Paul Ricard.

That's what you get when you're holding races out of F1's "heartland". I'm afraid USA and India will be any different :/

Yep.

Has the organisers of Korean GP sold any tickets yet?

^That's a very good question. Tickets are at least on sale....

There is no one who doesn't want this race to go ahead. To do it even in front of empty grandstands and well positioned TV cameras only is still cheapest option now...