F1 Races Set To Hit The Streets

Valencia and Singapore will host F1 Grand Prix races from 2008 with both races
set to see the drivers take to the the city streets on newly-designed circuits.

The Valencia race, to be called the European Grand Prix, is likely to feature
late on in the season and will be the second F1 race to take place on public
streets following in the footsteps of the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix.

The Singapore race is likely to be a night event, again taking place on a
street circuit around the Marina Bay area in September or early October. The
Grand Prix will be the first night race in F1 history.

The new seven-year agreement for the Valencia race is conditional on the
People’s Party holding power in local elections to be held this month.
‘The
contract will not be signed until after the election, but I’m convinced it will
happen,’ said Ecclestone.

‘This will be an urban circuit rather than a street circuit and even better
than some of the ones that are already on the calendar.’

The new deal means Spain will have two Grands Prix next year, with Barcelona
staging the other.

Valencia’s willingness to pay an estimated £17.5m to stage each race as well
as the boom in popularity of F1 in Spain, on the back of the emergence of double
world champion Fernando Alonso, are seen as the major factors behind the
decision.