Formula One News » Yeongam to play host to F3 Superprix Posted on 07/09/2010
Buoyed by the success of last weekend’s ‘Circuit Run 2010′, which christened the tarmac destined to play host to the inaugural Korean Grand Prix next month, the venue at Yeongam has already signed a deal to stage another high-profile event.
As the Korea International Circuit completes final preparations for its F1 debut in October, Asia’s newest race track has announced that it will also host the international Korea F3 Superprix over 26-28 November.
As a grand finale to the 2010 F3 season, the world’s leading drivers in the category are expected to travel to Korea following the annual Intercontinental Cup meeting in Macau.
“It is a great privilege for KIC to host the final international F3 race meeting of the year,” Korea Auto Valley Operation CEO Yung Cho Chung admitted, “As the centre for motorsport excellence in South Korea, we will have both the pinnacle of the sport with F1 and the superstars of tomorrow racing at KIC within months of it opening.”
The Superprix was announced at a signing ceremony between Yung and Motor Race Consultant’s Barry Bland, organiser of both the Korean event and the 3 Macau Grand Prix. The format will include Friday testing, with qualifying on Saturday and a Qualification Race and the Superprix itself the following day. The event will run on KIC’s full 5.615km circuit configuration.
The original Korean Superprix was the first ever international motorsport meeting held in the country, when it made its debut in 1999 at the Changwon street circuit outside Pusan. It ran annually for five years until 2003, when future F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton took pole position. The Briton could not win the event, however, having been beaten by American Richard Antinucci in the main event.
Other F1 drivers to have competed in Korea during their F3 careers include Jenson Button, who finished second to fellow Briton Darren Manning in 1999, as well as Nico Rosberg, Robert Kubica, Heikki Kovalainen and former grand prix pilots Nelson Piquet Jr, Takuma Sato and Tiago Monteiro.
“As the first international race meeting ever held in Korea, the Superprix was the catalyst for the development of the sport here, and culminated in the creation of the KIC and the country’s inclusion in the F1 world championship,” Bland claimed.
Further details of the Korea International Circuit have emerged since Karun Chandhok completed the first F1 laps at the venue on Saturday. As well as the Hermann Tilke-designed track, the facility incorporates ‘local elements’ such as the roof of the main grandstand, which resembles the eaves of traditional Korean ‘hanok’ houses. A total of 130,000 spectators can be accommodated at the circuit, with 16,000 seats in the main grandstand alone.
Promoter KAVO was pleased with the success of KIC’s first event, which saw Chandhok’s Red Bull RB5 joined on track by machinery from various other series.
“This has been an excellent opportunity for us to fine-tune the facilities ahead of next month’s Grand Prix, and it is exciting to see how enthusiastically the KIC has been received by Korean residents,” Yung concluded.
Follow us on twitter
Follow us on facebook
Subscribe to rss news feed