ABU DHABI // When the first driver speeds away from the starting blocks on Yas Marina Circuit next year, he will be negotiating a track that was nothing more than a bright idea just three years earlier. The superyacht marina, luxury hotel and karting track - key features of Abu Dhabi's Formula One experience - were then only figments in the imaginations of the race organisers.
Even by Abu Dhabi standards, the speed with which the agreement was made, the circuit built and the race staged will have been phenomenal - considerably faster than the 19 years it took for Singapore to host its first race last month. The deal was as good as confirmed over dinner in Abu Dhabi with Bernie Ecclestone, the head of Formula One Management, who has had a long-running interest in the region.
Khaldoon al Mubarak, the chairman of Abu Dhabi Motorsport Management (ADMM), admitted the idea of an Abu Dhabi Grand prix was one shared by several influential people. "I would love to take credit, but it was an idea going on in many people's minds. "It helps that Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, is a fan himself and has been behind the idea from the beginning. I was just someone who put it together.
"Formula One is something people have a great passion about in this area. The Bahrain Grand Prix really opened up the whole fan base in the region. "The time was right. We had wonderful discussions with Bernie that led ultimately to us putting Abu Dhabi on the calendar in 2009. "The idea had been there for years, but I think the discussions really became serious in 2006. That is when we had more formal discussions.
"I remember having dinner with Bernie here in Abu Dhabi and that is when things kicked off. We negotiated with him and here we are." The first hints of what was to come emerged last January, when a host of well-known drivers turned out for a Formula One festival in Abu Dhabi, parading their cars near Marina Mall and the Corniche. Within days, it was confirmed. Abu Dhabi would be "a wonderful addition to the Formula One calendar", said Mr Ecclestone, who praised the "genuine warmth" of Emiratis while signing the deal with Sheikh Mohammed and Mr Mubarak at the Emirates Palace hotel.
In the motorsport world, it was seen as quite a coup, given that Dubai already had a Formula One standard track just down the road. It was confirmed in June that Abu Dhabi would host the final race of the 2009 season. How much Abu Dhabi paid to secure its first race has not yet been disclosed. A sum of US$45 million (Dh165m) a year has been quoted in the international press, but ADMM is not in the business of confirming costs. Sources confirm that, as well as the race fee, the overall project will cost close to Dh5 billion (US$1.35bn) to complete.
The potential long-term returns to Abu Dhabi from tourism and television coverage are, however, incalculable. rhughes@thenational.ae
