Thursday October 24th, 2002

Beijing has started building a Formula One racetrack to rival one in Shanghai approved this week to stage Grand Prix races for the first time, the China Daily said today.

The foundations for the 1.0 billion yuan ($121 million) circuit were laid in a Beijing suburb on Wednesday after the International Automobile Federation approved the design, the newspaper said. The track would be 13 to 18 metres (43-59 feet) wide and 5.9 km (3.7 miles) long, 450 metres (1,476 feet) longer than Shanghai's, it said.

Chu Zhaoge, general manager of the Beijing International Circuit Co Ltd, was quoted as saying he was confident the new track would be technically suitable for Formula One races.

"Our international partners are major sponsors of F1 and other international racing competitions and they promise to bring high-level racing games to Beijing in the near future," Chu said.

The paper said he declined to give details of his partners. The track would host a series of competitions, including F3 racing, to check its road conditions and safety index, it said.

Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone said on Tuesday one of the current 17 Grand Prix tracks would be dropped from the international circuit to make way for Shanghai in 2004. On Monday, he signed a deal under which Shanghai would stage Grand Prix races for the first time from 2004 to 2010.

Eleven Formula One Grands Prix are held in Europe. Shanghai will be the fourth Asian destination to join the F1 calendar after Australia, Japan and Malaysia.

China has been trying to join the European-dominated Formula One club for more than a decade. It has been up against countries such as Turkey and India which are also building tracks with an eye to hosting Formula One races.

China spent more than nine years developing a circuit in the southern city of Zhuhai and was scheduled to join the F1 calendar in 1998, but the track failed to meet international standards.

Published at 08:27:29 GMT