Korean GP track to open on September 5th

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The organisers of the Korean Grand Prix have shrugged off speculation their inaugural race might be cancelled.

The Korean International Circuit is set to officially open on September 5th. In preparation for its first F1 race it will host the Asian Festival of Speed on the weekend of the 28th and 29th of September.

Formula BMW Asia and the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia will be among the first series to race on the track at that event, and the former will also appear at the Grand Prix weekend as a support race.

There have been concerns events outside the hands of the race organisers could have an effect on the October race. A diplomatic crisis between South Korea and North Korea following the sinking of a South Korean ship by a North Korean submarine has raised the possibility of military action.

Are you going to the Korean Grand Prix? Talk to other fans who are going here: 2010 Korean Grand Prix discussion

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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43 comments on “Korean GP track to open on September 5th”

  1. I thought that it was a South Korean ship that was sunk, not a sub.

    1. Either way it’s not a good situation. For anyone really.

      1. Some even say it was a ‘false-flag’ attack.

    2. It was – fixed it.

      1. A diplomatic crisis between South Korea and North Korea following the sinking of a South Korean ship by a North Korean submarine has raised the possibility of military action.

        I don’t want you to get in any trouble Keith, thats why I think you should have written “the alleged sinking” instead.

        1. Well its not alleged, its fact. Everyone has come out announcing it was them, except the UN, fearing it would be the final straw for North Korea.

          Its just one has to use their words wisely when dealing with the worlds most reclusive, yet paranoid and erratic country.

          This is after all the country whos state media reported that “the dear leader”, Kim Jong Il, holds the world record over 18 holes of golf, shooting a reasonable 38 under par, with 11 holes in one.

  2. Its not like arguments between the north and the south would have any effect at all on the race.

    If there is any violence, it will be the South attacking the North (because the north has no food… never mind an army). And if that even happens, the people living in the South will carry on as usual.

    Sort of like when Israel butchers the defenceless civies in gaza.

    1. Completely agree. People always get irrationally terrified. It’s blown out of all proportions by the media as well. There is never going to be a war because both sides are never going to even consider going to war. It’s all just a political show.

      1. Sorry to be pedantic but technically they are still at war. Ceasefire was signed in 1953 but still :).

      2. It’s not like they’ve done it before or anything…

      3. Jack, CNSZU – dreamers

    2. If North Korea has no army then whose submarine sunk the South Korean ship? No Mr. Peekoc North Korea has a huge army, even armed with nuclear weapons at the expence of it’s own people whom it terrorizes and starves to death to fund the military. Much like the hamas in Gaza who terrorize not only the civil population of Israel but their own as well, they couldn’t care less about their “civies” as you call them. And of course you can continue your life as usual while someone’s sinking your ships or firing rockets at your kindergartens. No problem Mr. Peekoc, none at all…

      On the subject itself, I never had any doubt that the track will be completed on time. I don’t want to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but maybe those rumours were spread by some interesant parties connected to one circuit in Europe or other who would dearly love to step in and “save the day”. I’m not saying that’s what happened but at the moment I can’t see a logical reason for those rumours.

      1. North Korea is surely the worst country in the world today. I’ve recently read a book about it called ‘Nothing to Envy’, which I’d recomend to anyone.

        The famine which they went through in the 90’s was quite horrific, and sadly even now there isn’t enough food. And, yes, they do have an army- the 4th biggest in the world, incredibly…

        1. But at least the guys in the army receive something to eat.

          Very sad story about North Korea. While it is unlikely they would really go into full force attacks on South Korea (knowing well, that they will lose in the end and with China urging them not to, as it does not want to be pulled in by supporting them), the situation is pretty rife for some conflict.

          Some missles might be fired and shots exchanged between vessels, especially as the country has its traditional power struggle before a new generation of Kim takes over.

          1. For anyone interested in North Korea today, there’s a fascinating web documentary over at Vice TV: http://www.vbs.tv/watch/the-vice-guide-to-travel/vice-guide-to-north-korea-1-of-3

        2. North Korea is surely the worst country in the world today.

          I think Burma, Indonesia, Columbia, Egypt, DR Congo, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Rwanda, Cambodia, and Yemen (amongst others) are giving them a pretty good run for their money.

          I’m not defending the Dear Leader, I just think it’s hard to point the finger at the worst country as there are so many to choose from.

          If there’s ever a revolution in North Korea it will be a good place to go for a driving holiday as Kim has had lots of very nice roads built and because he keeps the people in abject poverty there’s no-one driving on them other than government officials.
          There’s something about dictators that makes them build great roads; Hitler gave us the Autobahns & Ceausescu gave us the Transfagarasan Highway…

          If you’d prefer a happier life then check out:
          http://www.worldpeace.org.uk/

          1. If you’d like to help other people have a happier life check out:
            http://www.amnesty.org.uk/

            http://www.hrw.org/

            http://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/

          2. Colombia? Not even close to being one of the worst countries in the world. I assume you are talking about overall quality of life, so you might want to do some more research on Colombia before you throw them in the same bag as countries with crippled economies, no democracy, no freedom of speech or freedom of religion.
            I lived there for 22 years and its actually quite nice.

    3. Actually Jack, North Korea has the fourth-largest standing army in the world. That’s in real terms, not per capita.

  3. I was just thinking (in my usual pedantic way), shouldn’t there be some distinction in the naming of the Grand Prix, between North and South Korea. I mean I know they call themselves the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea respectively, but wouldn’t it be better to call it the South Korean Grand Prix.

    1. If I’m right in thinking, both countries claim they are the “real” Korea, not two different states that need distinguishing?

      1. Correct. If you go back to this year’s World Cup, they were not called North Korea and South Korea. They were called Korea DPR and Korea Republic.

    2. Was the German Gran Prix before reunification called West German Gran Prix?

      1. No, it wasn’t, for exactly the same reason. =)

      2. In previous FIFA World Cups West Germany went by Deutschland BRD, German Federal Republic?

  4. North Korea has one of the biggest armies in the world so I’ve no idea what people above are talking about but it could cause a serious problem for the event, I hope they settle things.

  5. The US has several Military bases still in Korea. If war were to break out, the US would be involved wether they wanted to be or not. (Iwould be an embarassed to be an American if we sat back and watched)

    1. Not much to be proud of though (altough being there is nessiccary due to the circumstances of the ceasefire).
      It would be a upstage to WWW3 as China is committed to support the north, in the same way the USA is committed to support the south.

      The only way out would be for the US and China to secretly agree on a way to stop it without the KLDR losing too much face.

    2. the US would certainly be involved in a shooting war. technically, the korean war is still active to this day. it has always been US policy to fight in defense of south korea, as well as taiwan (which china still claims as its own).

    3. Embarrassed….the only reason the Koreas got divided in the first place is because of America.

      Funny how a whole lot of the worlds problems come back to America.

      1. Yeah, if not for the meddling US Government, ALL Koreans could be living happily under the Dear Leader Kim Jong Il, united in harmonious song.

        1. Probably not. If America retreated when the offer was on the table with somewhat of an “agreement” with Russia the whole country would have been likely run by Syngman Rhee, the first South Korea President. I doubt Kim Jong Il would have succeeded to overthrow this govenment given the tension (Cold War, China, Japan) at the time meant a Korean military would have been huge.

          This however eliminates the aspect of the cold war or Chinas ever existance growth objective.

          You guys messed up. Anyone who is knowledgable in this area will tell you the same.

      2. Look on the bright side, we’re probably within 5 years of America collapsing under it’s own weight of debt, corruption and philosophical division. Of course, you can blame our government when, as a result, there’s a global depression. Nobody likes the American Government, not even Americans.

        1. I’m not against America, but at the same time I can see how certain parts of the world are, even developed nations.

          Here’s some enjoyable reading:

          http://www.usdebtclock.org/

  6. Didn’t Hyundai say five years ago that with the inauguration of the Korean GP, they would enter? With the Japanese and BMW gone, it would be nice to see another manufacturer.

    1. Prisoner Monkeys
      13th August 2010, 23:42

      They did announce their intentions to join the grid in 2010, but that was way back in 2006. The global economic meltdown in between then and now probably dampened their spirits a little.

  7. I read some rumours, that Bernie actually asked Motorland Aragon (with the discount price tag of only 22 million EUR) weather they would be interested to stand in for Korea if the promotors would fail to make it in time.

    1. Prisoner Monkeys
      13th August 2010, 23:39

      Not rumours – there seems to be some truth to them; Aragon admitted they had held talks. Not to replace Korea, but to replace any circuit that could not hold a race. They declined.

  8. thank goodness there’s no north korean drivers on the grid;
    otherwise they’ll suffer the same fate as their world cup footballers if they not showing some good result

    1. Prisoner Monkeys
      13th August 2010, 23:41

      If there were North Korean drivers, they wouldn’t be living in North Korea. Very few drivers actually live on the country they were born in – it’s easier to live in Europe for Formula 1; it’s one of the reasons why Michael Andretti’s brief career as a Formula 1 driver failed. He lived in America and insisted on communting to Europe every time he was needed over there.

  9. Arent there enough politics in our sport without us commenting on this?

  10. Quote from the top: “In preparation for its first F1 race it will host the Asian Festival of Speed on the weekend of the 28th and 29th of September.”

    What weekend is this? It doesn’t actually exist this year!

    You probably mean the 28th and 29th of August, the same weekend as the Belgian GP.

  11. FOR THOSE WHo THINK north korea is a weak country….think again…THE usa cannot start a war with this country and if it did the result would not be worth the effort
    http://www.rense.com/general37/nkorr.htm
    and of course we have the ongoing lessons on IRAQ and afghanistan
    ANYWAY war stories aside iam personaly looking forward to this new racetrack and hope it makes the calenders more exiting venue

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