Work on Yas Marina circuit is ‘on schedule’
01 March 2009
CONSTRUCTION on the Gulf’s newest Formula One race track is “on schedule” and expected to be completed in time for its November 1 premiere, the circuit’s developers said.
Ten per cent of the 5.5-km circuit for the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – the final race on F1’s 17-race calendar – has been laid a year after construction began.
“We are on schedule, attending to a million details,” said Philippe Gurdjian, the managing director of Yas Marina Circuit’s racing properties. “It’s not difficult to build a track; it’s a different story to finish it.”
The Yas Marina circuit is part of a $40-billion development project bankrolled by the Abu Dhabi government and Aldar, a partly government-backed developer.
The current economic climate will not affect plans for what will be the first of nine grand prix races in the UAE, Gurdjian said. “It’s a new circuit, a new race at the end of the season ... I wish we had 10 teams with 20 cars racing, instead of nine teams and 18 cars.”
F1 has cut costs and modified regulations following Honda’s surprise pullout from the sport in December. Since then, Dutch bank ING slashed millions from its sponsorship of Renault and Swiss bank Credit Suisse Group pulled its sponsorship of the BMW Sauber team.
The Abu Dhabi GP will be the Gulf’s second race after the Bahrain GP, which has been held annually since 2004.
The development includes a marina and seven hotels, including one built over the track, and has been designed by German architect Hermann Tilke, who also designed the track in Bahrain.
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