Russia to host world's most famous race
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin attended the signing of a contract that now makes Sochi, the city of the 2014 Winter Olympics, the official host of Formula One racing from 2014 to 2020.
Over 30 years ago, Bernard Charles Ecclestone, the director of the Formula One Group, flooded Leonid Brezhnev's mailbox with letters and proposals to hold the F1 Grand Prix around the Kremlin. Impressed by the 1980 Olympics, Brezhnev almost agreed, but the idea was eventually lost in his bureaucratic machinery. Since then, Moscow and St Petersburg have received many such proposals, but none has ever been realized.
"I know that you have been discussing the plans to build a track for Formula One races with the Soviet and Russian leadership for a long time," Vladimir Putin told Formula One CEO Bernard Charles Ecclestone. "You even discussed the issue in person with Leonid Brezhnev. Finally, after decades of negotiations, we have reached a solution."
According to the prime minister, the contract will be important both in using Sochi's Olympic infrastructure to its fullest potential and in generating youth interest in sports and motor racing. Hosting the event is also very profitable. On average, National F1 Grand Prix attract nearly 100,000 tourists, while the most publicized races may bring up to 200,000 at a time. A good example is the race held in Singapore. Moreover, Ecclestone found the Russian strategic planning especially compelling, and the contract may be extended for an additional five years. Vladimir Putin decided not to disclose the exact price tag of the contract, calling it "information of a commercial nature," but he did say that it would amount to "several billions of roubles."
The first race in Sochi's Olympic Park in the Imereti Valley is to take place in the autumn of 2014, although details must still be discussed with the International Olympic Committee. As of now, however, the race track promises another major construction for Sochi. Its cost has not been announced yet but experts estimate it at $200 million.
A special managing company has been assembled and contracted to organise the work. It is to include several national private-owned companies interested in the project. Yesterday, LUKoil President Vagit Alekperov, Basic Element CEO Oleg Deripaska, Megafon CEO Sergei Soldatenkov, and Russian Technologies Corporation CEO Sergei Chemezov signed an agreement on project cooperation.
Moreover, Sergei Chemezov raised the issue of sponsorship and said that Yota, his corporation's subsidiary, will be willing to pay for the F1 race's name – the Yota Grand Prix.
Anastasia Savinykh