Grand Prix Disappoints

Korea’s first F1 Grand Prix Oct. 23-24 was something of a disappointment for its organizers.

Only about half the available 120,000 tickets were sold. According to various media reports there are many reasons for the lack of interest. The $275 million track itself in Yeongam County, about 250 miles southwest of Seoul, was only completed days before the actual race, even though construction started three years ago.

Also, though South Korea is one of the world’s leading automobile manufacturing countries, no auto maker came forward as a title sponsor of the race.

Apparently, there was also little promotion done overseas to bring foreign F1 fans to Korea, a country where the sport invites little enthusiasm to begin with.

To make matters worse, rain hampered much of the racing that went on over the weekend, delaying some of the events.