Formula-1 to come to the Canaries
Two of Formula One’s biggest wheels, Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, have indicated their willingness to fly over to the archipelago before November 2007 to help close a multimillion euro operation involving plans for two top class international circuits to be built in the islands, one in Tenerife and the other in Gran Canaria. The double package effectively nips in the bud any traditional inter-provincial rivalries which would inevitably flare up in the case of just one track being built.
The bad news for fans is that, for the present at least, both will be limited to practice and testing and not for actual F-1 races, with competitions proper limited to F-2 events.
For the racing industry, however, the proposition is very attractive, allowing as it would the big teams like McLaren, Ferrari and Williams to run trials and fine tune their machines on two circuits with similar characteristics to those on the official F-1 calendar throughout the autumn and winter off-seasons.
The idea of bringing F-1 to the islands has been kicking around for several years, but suddenly it appears to have gathered momentum. And in the best traditions of political strategy, even before a site has been selected, they’ve settled on a slogan.
The regional government has been behind a marketing campaign this summer which has been big on the F-1 international scene entitled “Canary Islands, Your Next Circuit”, treating the definite article with its usual cavalier disregard.
Reliable sources have indicated that the search is on to find suitable locations. One serious possibility lies in the Los Duques area of Atogo in Granadilla de Abona, for which a plan involving a 3,995 kilometre long, 14 bend circuit has been gathering dust for a number of years. The 1,322,341 square metre site is on land which belongs to the Cabildo, but other locations, also within the same municipality, are also being considered.
One thing’s for sure: the idea of some of the top names like Alonso, Hamilton, Massa or Raikkonen flying into the islands on a regular basis, with all the glamour and razzmatazz associated with them, is being viewed by the authorities, so concerned for the future of tourism right now, with increasing euphoria.
A project for so long on the back burner is now being seen as a priority and likely to attract a new type of tourist and, what is more, will be welcomed with open arms by the islands’ legions of motoring fans.
Credits: Tenerife News