Korea race takes shape

The circuit will be built by D3 Motorsport Development, which has among its clients some of the most successful Champ Car city venues - Surfers Paradise (Australia) Monterrey (Mexico) and Mexico City - and is also responsible for the new San Jose facility.

The company has completed the design phase and released a provisional track map. The layout is similar to Monterrey in having many tight corners and a couple of 180-degree loops. But unlike the Mexican track it features one long straight ending in a hard-braking area, which should promote overtaking - a phenomenon for which Champ Car is renowned but which has become all too rare on the rash of tight, claustrophobic street circuits that have been added to the calendar in recent years.

Promotion for the race will be undertaken jointly by the Ansan city government and a company called The Korea Racing. Ansan, an industrial city with a population of around 700,000, is hoping a major motorsport event will raise its international profile and boost tourism.

Champ Car's Korean debut had originally been planned for 2004 as a street race in Seoul, but planning obstacles led to the event being cancelled. The Ansan race will be paired with the Surfers Paradise round (which takes place on October 23) to minimise travel costs.