Sports Authorities Approve Layout for a Proposed F1 Race

The proposed route would start and finish at the Royal Thai Naval Dockyard

 

BANGKOK – Sports Authorities in Bangkok have agreed on the layout for a proposed F1 night race on the streets of Bangkok in 2015.

Thailand is among several countries vying for a spot on the F1 calendar and the Bangkok Post is reporting that the Sports Authority of Thailand has now agreed on a 5.995km track layout through the heart of Bangkok.

Sports Authority of Thailand has now agreed on a 5.995km track layout through the heart of Bangkok.

The proposed route would start and finish at the Royal Thai Naval Dockyard next to the Chao Phraya River and near the Rama VIII Bridge and would then head south towards the Grand Palace – one of Bangkok’s tourist hotspots. It would then loop up to Ratchadamnoen Avenue, where Mark Webber completed a demonstration run in a Red Bull in 2010, go past Democracy Monument and loop back round to the start along Phra Sumen. Within the proposed circuit is the world-famous backpackers’ destination Khao San Road.

As the starting and finishing point would be on the bank of the Chao Phraya River, we may be able to build the main stands in the river. It would also be convenient for transportation of equipment, Kanokphand Chulakasem, governor of the Sports Authority of Thailand, told the Bangkok Post. “Only a small group of residents would be affected by the proposed route.

The layout and the final plans for the grand prix will be submitted to the government for a final sign-off in the next three months.

Thailand has been chasing the race for several years, with Red Bull a keen backer to hold a night race in the country’s capital.

The event will almost certainly attract a bumper crowd, with Mark Webber having drawn 100,000 spectators to a street demo in the city back in 2010.