Shanghai's brand new US$240 million (euro 197 million) racing circuit is finished and ready to host China's first ever Formula One event on Sept. 26, the track's general manager said Friday.
Tickets are sold out for the Chinese Grand Prix, and about 200,000 people -- thousands of them from overseas -- are expected to watch the race, Mao Xiao-han told reporters at the track in the west Shanghai suburb of Jiading.
"The response has been excellent and we are totally ready for the race," Mao said.
The Shanghai Grand Prix is the third-to-last event on the 18-race F1 schedule, marking China's entry into the international glamor sport which is increasingly looking to Asia to expand its audience.
The 5.4km-long Shanghai International Circuit, designed by Germany's Hermann Tilke, stretches out in the shape of the Chinese character "Shang" -- the first part of the word Shanghai.
The track has been called fast and technical, with a punishing 14 turns and a pair of long straightaways on which drivers will reach top speeds of 326kph.
On Friday, F1 organizers were spread out across the sprawling, 5.3km2 site, unloading furniture and computers, surveying the track surface, and meeting with their Shanghai colleagues.
Workers dangling from a crane hung banners from the main grandstand while others assembled temporary outdoor pavilions for sponsors. Scores of jumpsuited janitors hanging from ropes polished windows and the grandstand's red columns.
Race teams, drivers, sponsors and fans are expected to begin arriving Monday, filling the city's hotels, restaurants and clubs. Qualifying began yesterday and and continues today, with the race scheduled for tomorrow.
Michael Schumacher has already clinched the 2004 season with 12 wins out of 15 races. Mao said he wasn't concerned about the season's foregone conclusion.
"The race is important in an economic, cultural and sporting sense," Mao said.
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