36 million dollar deficit for the Korean Grand Prix

These are the organizers themselves who revealed the information to Reuters: « It is difficult to say what the impact of this loss will be on next year. Even though we are concerned about these losses, the deficit for a third consecutive year is a short-term effect. In the long term, F1 will bring more benefits to the country. This will not only help South Korea’s automotive industry but also aid the development of new industries. »

This new deficit comes after an inaugural loss of 50 million dollars in 2010 and nearly 60 million last year. The main reason for this chronic deficit is that the circuit fails to attract local crowds, while ticket sales are practically the only source of revenue left by Bernie Ecclestone. The geographical location of Yeongam, about 400 kilometers south of Seoul, does not help fill the stands.

However, the arrival of South Korea is a long-term investment as it has signed a seven-year contract, with an option for five additional seasons – potentially until 2021.

The comparison with a circuit like Suzuka remains cruel for the Land of Morning Calm since the Japanese circuit often attracts more than 120,000 spectators, even though the last two editions have been a bit more complicated: Yoshihisa Ueno, its press officer, stated: “Compared to the prosperous years, things have become a bit more difficult, but we had 103,000 spectators on race day. Last year, with the nuclear disaster and the tsunami, the numbers were down, but this year, from an economic perspective, it was a successful year.”

It is thus interesting to note that Suzuka, along with Silverstone, is one of the few Grand Prix events not subsidized by the government and must therefore manage to at least break even. It proves that this is possible. Hopefully, their French counterparts will one day solve the same equation…

With the participation of www.Racingbusiness.fr