2014 Thailand Grand Prix is in the works - F1

by Milan655 Mon Sep 10, 2012 4:55 pm

http://www.f1cities.com/2014-Thai-Grand-Prix-negotiations-have-gone-smoothly

F1 Cities wrote:The organisers of the touted Thai Grand Prix have the money in place and are willing to run a night race to fit in with European TV schedules which will have pleased Bernie Ecclestone and should attract sponsorship: what then could stop the idea going ahead and the proposed inaugural race the 2014 Thai Grand Prix becoming a reality?

The appetite for Formula One in Thailand is thought to be strong and as discussed earlier this year in this article Thailand has had a Formula one driver in the past when Prince Bira, of then Siam, competed between 1950 and 1954; Thailand then has more of a history of motorsport than any other Asian country other than Malaysia, Singapore and Japan. The passion for motorsport though may become clear this December when the Race of Champions featuring drivers such as Vettel and Schumacher comes to the country for the first of two years. The event previously held at venues such as Wembley in London will be at Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok and the capacity for the event will be 50,000: a sell out or close to a sell out will be a good sign for a Grand Prix which would also attract tourists.

Certainly a major reason for getting the Thai Grand Prix will be to bring more tourists to Thailand and to Bankok especially that has suffered from International news stories in recent years where floods and political protests have left tourists stranded at Bankok’s airport. Bernie Ecclestone is likely to look for assurances that there will be no repeats of at least the occupation of the airport by protestors or other disruption but the Sports Authority of Thailand’s chairman Kanokphand Chulakasem said at a press conference for the Race of Champions that regarding the Grand Prix: “Our discussions with Bernie Ecclestone have gone smoothly,…..Chalerm Yoovidhya, Red Bull team owner, is helping negotiate the hosting fee, which is likely to be about Bt1.2 billion’ (that’s £24.5 million).

Red Bull is of course partly Thai owned as it was in Thailand the energy drink that became Red Bull was first sold before being introduced to the rest of the World in Partnership with Dietrich Materschitz; as such the Thai people see Red Bull as their national team and support is high. Red Bull may well be major sponsors of the race therefore and help cover the outlay, talking about the costs of staging a Thai Grand Prix Mr Chulakasem said:

“The cost of building a new F1 venue to accommodate 100,000 spectators will be about Bt100 million. We need to finalise the budget before we propose it to the cabinet. We expect the overall budget for hosting an F1 race to be around Bt5 billion,[approx. £100 million] “.

It seems then that there is still some way to go for the Grand Prix to go ahead with government approval but the idea seems a fine one in principle.

Although it may not seem of much importance to you, this is a very big thing for me. I work for the key investor Chalerm Yoovidhya in one of his Ferrari dealerships in Bangkok, and I also (partially) live in Bangkok. Additionally, the next 2 Race of Champions will be held in Bangkok, and they are looking for a Thai driver; unfortunately they have not found one, however a good friend of mine's son happens to be 1/4th Thai, so I may be able to push him into the slot for 2013.

by f1fan12 Mon Sep 10, 2012 9:44 pm

Another useless F1 race, that would probably take place on a Tilkedrome, that would take away a date from another European Round

by **Cynon** Mon Sep 10, 2012 10:04 pm

f1fan12 wrote:Another useless F1 race, that would probably take place on a Tilkedrome, that would take away a date from another European Round

Barcelona's date has been in doubt for some time...

...would you really miss Barcelona?

by Spannerhead29 (Nelson) Mon Sep 10, 2012 11:26 pm

Cynon wrote:
f1fan12 wrote:Another useless F1 race, that would probably take place on a Tilkedrome, that would take away a date from another European Round

Barcelona's date has been in doubt for some time...

...would you really miss Barcelona?

Why Barcelonla, why not Valenica or Budapest.

by PYLrulz Mon Sep 10, 2012 11:29 pm

Spannerhead29 (Nelson) wrote:
Cynon wrote:
f1fan12 wrote:Another useless F1 race, that would probably take place on a Tilkedrome, that would take away a date from another European Round

Barcelona's date has been in doubt for some time...

...would you really miss Barcelona?
Why Barcelonla, why not Valenica or Budapest.

Hasn't Korea's round been in jeopardy since race organizers can't usually get their stuff straight?!?

by bartman97 Tue Sep 11, 2012 1:34 am

I'll only be happy if there is a race in Thailand because of time zones.

by Metro 6r4 Tue Sep 11, 2012 2:50 am

I am hoping all of the Tilkedromes eventually go away, because in my opinion they all suck. I might serious look at that kind of career to save the world from these souless tracks.

by **crl** Tue Sep 11, 2012 2:57 am

Swap it out with Bahrain (but that won't happen because Bernie's an asshole), and I'd be OK with it.

by Milan655 Tue Sep 11, 2012 11:30 am

As far as I am aware, the race has been finalised to take place on the streets of Bangkok Smile

by iAMBADDATGAMES Tue Sep 11, 2012 3:36 pm

Seeing as I'm from this region and 3/4 of my family still lives there(Its Laos for those who are wondering) , i'm quite happy about this. Very Happy

by BWard Tue Sep 11, 2012 3:43 pm

I bet this will be one way to make Formula 1 an even more popular Sport around the world Smile

by PYLrulz Tue Sep 11, 2012 7:52 pm

Metro 6r4 wrote:I am hoping all of the Tilkedromes eventually go away, because in my opinion they all suck. I might serious look at that kind of career to save the world from these souless tracks.

Well since they have did what they did with the tires and cars, the Tilkedromes are tolerable, if not watchable.

by Metro 6r4 Wed Sep 12, 2012 10:36 am

PYLrulz wrote:
Metro 6r4 wrote:I am hoping all of the Tilkedromes eventually go away, because in my opinion they all suck. I might serious look at that kind of career to save the world from these souless tracks.

Well since they have did what they did with the tires and cars, the Tilkedromes are tolerable, if not watchable.

I will admit that when weather and tires come into play, they are tolerable. But would you rather see the Shanghai gp, or something like this? 2014 Thailand Grand Prix is in the works - F1 Imolar10

2014 Thailand Grand Prix is in the works - F1 Imolar10

by Milan655 Wed Sep 12, 2012 1:37 pm

So far, Tilke hasn't been contracted to design the track. It's been done by someone else (I don't know who)...

by PYLrulz Wed Sep 12, 2012 2:17 pm

Metro 6r4 wrote:
PYLrulz wrote:
Metro 6r4 wrote:I am hoping all of the Tilkedromes eventually go away, because in my opinion they all suck. I might serious look at that kind of career to save the world from these souless tracks.

Well since they have did what they did with the tires and cars, the Tilkedromes are tolerable, if not watchable.
I will admit that when weather and tires come into play, they are tolerable. But would you rather see the Shanghai gp, or something like this?

Even when weather isn't a factor, it's been a tolerable race to watch (Bahrain and Valencia of all places produced watchable races)

by **Ben Atkins** Wed Sep 12, 2012 2:42 pm

If 2013's anything like this year, then it won't matter what track it is, it will be a good race. Razz

by Milan655 Wed Sep 12, 2012 2:47 pm

Ben Atkins wrote:If 2013's anything like this year, then it won't matter what track it is, it will be a good race.

Yes it has been good, but I haven't really enjoyed the season much despite Alonso leading the standings. It's starting to become somewhat better, but it just seemed like the entire time, the one's winning were the team who understood the tyres. As I said, if the teams learn the tyres then it should become fairly enjoyable for purists.

by PRAWBLEMS Wed Sep 12, 2012 2:48 pm

A street race in Bangkok? I highly doubt that'll go through. Somewhere along the way, someone's going to pull out.

by Milan655 Wed Sep 12, 2012 2:52 pm

PRAWBLEMS wrote:A street race in Bangkok? I highly doubt that'll go through. Somewhere along the way, someone's going to pull out.

The process is mostly backed by Red Bull (which is 50% owned by Chalerm Yoovidhya, a Thai man, who's father created the company), so unless Red Bull are hit by the economical depression, it should mostly go through. Bangkok traffic on the other hand...See Here. It might piss off a couple of the locals...

by Milan655 Thu Sep 27, 2012 1:00 pm

More news

"Thailand could be the latest addition to the 2014 calendar after plans to host a race in the capital city of Bangkok took a step forward.
The country has been keen to host an event for a few years now, but nothing serious had been discussed until last week when government officials and representatives from Red Bull met with Bernie Ecclestone.
An agreement has been put in place, though no contracts have been signed yet, to hold a night race in the city from as early as 2014, according to governor of the Sports Authority of Thailand Kanokphand Chulakasem.
"It will be a city race like in Singapore and Monaco. It will be a night race like the Singapore Grand Prix," the Bangkok Post quote him as saying.
It's believed the government will fund upwards of 60 per cent of the deal, with private funding from Red Bull and Singha beer making up the remaining 40 per cent."

http://www.thef1times.com/news/display/06784

by **Cynon** Thu Sep 27, 2012 1:48 pm

Milan655 wrote:
Ben Atkins wrote:If 2013's anything like this year, then it won't matter what track it is, it will be a good race.

Yes it has been good, but I haven't really enjoyed the season much despite Alonso leading the standings. It's starting to become somewhat better, but it just seemed like the entire time, the one's winning were the team who understood the tyres. As I said, if the teams learn the tyres then it should become fairly enjoyable for purists.

Sounds like sour grapes to me, because tire management should be a part of motorsport. It's why NASCAR racing suffers and part of why IndyCar is as good as it is.

by f1fan12 Thu Sep 27, 2012 5:46 pm

In before Bernie says the race might not happen...

by PYLrulz Fri Sep 28, 2012 2:33 am

f1fan12 wrote:In before Bernie says the race might not happen, then another deal makes the race happen anyway

Fixed. Come on now, we all know how it works by now

by Milan655 Sun Dec 09, 2012 9:45 am

The race is confirmed (but not has not, as of yet, been announced). The circuit is set to take place in Phra Nakhon, Bangkok, passing by the famed Wat Pho Reclining Buddha, and traveling through the raised motorways of Bangkok.

by bigdc48 Sun Dec 09, 2012 5:29 pm

Then they best take away India. That track is SO TERRIBLE. I've heard rumors about a possible third race in the U.S. in Los Angeles. Neutral

by **Cynon** Sun Dec 09, 2012 6:21 pm

bigdc48 wrote:Then they best take away India. That track is SO TERRIBLE. I've heard rumors about a possible third race in the U.S. in Los Angeles.

First, New Jersey needs to actually happen. Razz

by PYLrulz Sun Dec 09, 2012 7:45 pm

bigdc48 wrote:Then they best take away India. That track is SO TERRIBLE. I've heard rumors about a possible third race in the U.S. in Los Angeles.

If they do that, how about coming over in April in a neighboring town called Long Beach?!?

by Sparkz47 Sun Dec 09, 2012 8:24 pm

PYLrulz wrote:
bigdc48 wrote:Then they best take away India. That track is SO TERRIBLE. I've heard rumors about a possible third race in the U.S. in Los Angeles.

If they do that, how about coming over in April in a neighboring town called Long Beach?!?

Before you know it, F1 could have an entire American tour on their hands. 2014 Thailand Grand Prix is in the works - F1 277638789

by navycook75 Sun Dec 09, 2012 8:43 pm

PYLrulz wrote:
bigdc48 wrote:Then they best take away India. That track is SO TERRIBLE. I've heard rumors about a possible third race in the U.S. in Los Angeles.

If they do that, how about coming over in April in a neighboring town called Long Beach?!?

I think they did it before

by BWard Mon Dec 10, 2012 3:30 am

navycook75 wrote:
PYLrulz wrote:
bigdc48 wrote:Then they best take away India. That track is SO TERRIBLE. I've heard rumors about a possible third race in the U.S. in Los Angeles.

If they do that, how about coming over in April in a neighboring town called Long Beach?!?
I think they did it before

F1 has raced there before, but I think it was last back in the 80's

by **Cynon** Mon Dec 10, 2012 4:13 am

PYLrulz wrote:
bigdc48 wrote:Then they best take away India. That track is SO TERRIBLE. I've heard rumors about a possible third race in the U.S. in Los Angeles.

If they do that, how about coming over in April in a neighboring town called Long Beach?!?

Ewwww no.

by Sparkz47 Mon Dec 10, 2012 7:57 pm

If I've said it once I've said it a thousand times. Come on guys, picture it: the F1 Grand Prix of Eldora!

Eh? EH? 2014 Thailand Grand Prix is in the works - F1 364988687

2014 Thailand Grand Prix is in the works - F1 364988687

by RACECAR Mon Dec 10, 2012 10:22 pm

PYLrulz wrote:
If they do that, how about coming over in April in a neighboring town called Long Beach?!?

If that happened, it wouldn't so much be Long Beach anymore. It would be another track sanitized of its characther just for F1.

by Dan Mackay Mon Dec 10, 2012 10:58 pm

how about we have a us gp east at watkins glen, instead of that new jersey garbage Razz

by Milan655 Tue Dec 11, 2012 7:00 am

Dan Mackay wrote:how about we have a us gp east at watkins glen, instead of that new jersey garbage

2014 Thailand Grand Prix is in the works - F1 Bernie-money-500x334

by BWard Tue Dec 11, 2012 7:27 am

Dan Mackay wrote:how about we have a us gp east at watkins glen, instead of that new jersey garbage

seriously, that wouldn't fit the style of the Sport Neutral

by Milan655 Tue Dec 11, 2012 8:46 am

BWardboy88 wrote:
Dan Mackay wrote:how about we have a us gp east at watkins glen, instead of that new jersey garbage

seriously, that wouldn't fit the style of the Sport

I think you're forgetting the boot section too...

by RetrogradeRenegade Tue Dec 11, 2012 1:05 pm

How about we have at least one race at New Jersey before we write it off? And F1 will never go back to Watkins Glen as long as Bernie draws breath. They owe him money.

by Dan Mackay Wed Dec 12, 2012 4:07 am

in that case, theres many other good rcs to choose from -_-

by f1fan12 Wed Dec 12, 2012 5:58 am

Milan655 wrote:
BWardboy88 wrote:
Dan Mackay wrote:how about we have a us gp east at watkins glen, instead of that new jersey garbage

seriously, that wouldn't fit the style of the Sport

I think you're forgetting the boot section too...

That is a wierd chicane in the middle of the Esses!

by tommykl Wed Dec 12, 2012 8:11 am

f1fan12 wrote:
Milan655 wrote:
BWardboy88 wrote:
Dan Mackay wrote:how about we have a us gp east at watkins glen, instead of that new jersey garbage

seriously, that wouldn't fit the style of the Sport

I think you're forgetting the boot section too...

That is a wierd chicane in the middle of the Esses!

They did that to slow the cars down after François Cevert's fatal accident. By the looks of it, it didn't really work.

by RACECAR Thu Dec 13, 2012 1:30 am

Dan Mackay wrote:how about we have a us gp east at watkins glen, instead of that new jersey garbage

For the exact same reason I think they should NOT come to any US tracks outside of COTA.

RACECAR wrote:It would be another track sanitized of its characther just for F1

by Milan655 Thu Jan 24, 2013 4:58 pm

Good new and bad news. Bad news is that Tilke is building a circuit in the middle of nowhere. Good new is, there is still the possibility it will be held in the Bangkok street and, as previously mentioned, will be in the Phra Nakhon region around the Wat Pho reclining Buddha Smile

Crash.net wrote:Newin Chidchob, a prominent figure in the Thai political scene, is reported to have approached Hermann Tilke's design company to discuss the construction of a new F1-ready race track in Thailand.

Thai Rath, a Thai-language daily newspaper published in Bangkok and distributed nationwide, reported on Thursday that Newin wants to build the circuit estimated at a cost of two billion baht (around 170 million pounds sterling, or US$270m) in his home town of Buri Ram, 400km to the north of Thailand's capital Bangkok.

Newin is a former leading opposition politician in Thailand who was banned by the courts from politics for five years in 2007. He is currently the president of Thai football club Buri Ram United.

The reports - also carried by the leading Bangkok Post newspaper - say that Newin has already contacted Tilke directly about designing the international-standard FIA-certified racetrack, one that would be able to stage a full F1 Grand Prix event.

The track would be located near to Buri Ram United's stadium, with Newin reported to be hoping for completion of the 200-acre site as early as the end of 2014.

Thailand is already set to hold a maiden Grand Prix event in either 2014 or 2015, with a night street race in Bangkok having been agreed in principal by F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone.

"It will be a city race like that in Singapore and Monaco. It will be a night race like the Singapore Grand Prix," the governor of the Sports Authority of Thailand, Kanokphand Chulakasem, said in September 2012.

The street track is expected to incorporate Ratchadamnoen Avenue, first suggested as a suitable location for motor racing by Prince Birabongse Bhanudej Bhanubandh who is the only Thai driver to have ever raced in F1 - for Maserati, Gordini and Connaught in the 1950s.

However, at the time the sanctioning fee and contract were both still to be agreed, with Tourism and Sports Minister Chumpol Silpa-archa suggesting that the Thai government would likely pay up to 60 per cent of the annual fee while the remainder would come from private companies such as Red Bull and Singha Beer International.

It's not clear whether Newin's latest track building initiative in Buri Ram is more a case of local and regional political manoeuvring, or whether it's arisen because of problems with the original intention of holding the race on the streets of Bangkok.

The street race was originally expected to be part of the 2014 calendar, but in December Ecclestone told the Wall Street Journal: "They say 2014 and I say 2015, but it is serious and it is good."

by Milan655 Thu May 16, 2013 8:48 am

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/107449

Rumors boosted as Bangkok set to host a round of next years innaugural Formula E championship in it's city streets.

by **Cynon** Thu May 16, 2013 9:26 pm

Companion event with F1? Or did the FE event come about because the F1 bid failed? I'm tempted to believe the latter.

by Milan655 Fri May 17, 2013 2:55 am

Thai Grand Prix is set for 2015, so more or less preparation it seems.

by RetrogradeRenegade Fri May 17, 2013 5:32 am

I'm still remaining skeptical. I think this could be more of a preparation, and have the Thai GP on standby in case one of the races currently on the calendar turns out to be unable to fulfill their contract. Logically it would seem to be Korea, but Japan is also without a confirmed race for 2014... apart from Korea, I guess you could take Bernie's comments about Bahrain as meaning that F1 leaving there could not be so far off as it seemed.

by f1fan12 Fri May 17, 2013 6:44 am

RetrogradeRenegade wrote:I'm still remaining skeptical. I think this could be more of a preparation, and have the Thai GP on standby in case one of the races currently on the calendar turns out to be unable to fulfill their contract. Logically it would seem to be Korea, but Japan is also without a confirmed race for 2014... apart from Korea, I guess you could take Bernie's comments about Bahrain as meaning that F1 leaving there could not be so far off as it seemed.

Japan will be back in 2014, too many tracks can host it. With Korea, and Bahrain on the chopping block, there is a very good chance this is a back up plan for either of those races. Or it could be used for the 20th slot that Port Imperial is supposed to get. But I would find it stupid to have a GP in Thailand, when you already have Singapore and Malaysia, which are not too far from Thailand.

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