The Weekly Grapevine

Four years ago, when the future of the defaulting French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours was under review (yes, it is a long-running saga), rumours surfaced that Bernie Ecclestone was planning to take Formula One to the rebuilt Paul Ricard High Tech Test Track circuit he owned.

HTTT had been rebuilt totally under the guidance of Philippe Gurdjian, Ecclestone's Mr Fix-it and a highly creative manager who was once promoter of the French Grand Prix.

As the full name of the facility circuit situated near Marseilles implies, Paul Ricard now exists purely as a proving ground, not a race track, and features not a single grandstand for the paying public. Sceptics had a field day, for no grand prix can pay its way without gate money - which covers the rights fees paid to Formula One Management - and therefore the suggestion was dead in the water.

In any event, said the critics, the area did not have sufficient hotel rooms, whilst the narrow sinuous access roads leading to the showcase circuit were certainly never designed to cater for 21st Century grand prix crowds.

Philippe Gurdjian and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan © Abu Dhabi GP

The counter was that Bernie was FOM and Ricard, and therefore no hosting fees needed to be paid, and that a small number of spectators - the figure given was 12 000 - could be accommodated in the massive pit/paddock complex and in temporary stands built for the occasion. They would then be plied with the best in food and drink and be pampered all day.

The punters would be ferried by helicopter or coach from the holiday mansions and luxury hotels which line that part of the Cote d'Azur, and the rest of the world would watch the race on television. As a designer media event using F1 as platform, top dollar would be charged for circuit hoardings and TV advertising slots.

In short, it was the Paddock Club model taken to extreme, and the rumoured ticket prices - US$10 000-per-head - reflected this. All in, it was the sort of race one could see Gurdjian not only pulling off, but doing so spectacularly.

The whole thing, of course, came to nought after Magny-Cours paid (or, more likely, rescheduled) its dues, but the topic is often discussed amongst media folk whose primary concerns are the sport's structures and not the ingredients of Lewis Hamilton's breakfast or Kimi Raikkonen's glass.

The concept of a high-roller/media event sprang to mind during Singapore's stylish race, then returned last week in China where an empty hospitality unit was used to introduce PG's latest masterpiece: the Yas Marina Circuit currently under construction on the island of the same name off the coast of Abu Dhabi.

A detailed scale model of the circuit was laid out within the room, and PG took pride in pointing out some of the 'unique' - a word he used liberally in describing his brainchild - features of the facility.

To refer to Yas Marina Circuit as 'his brainchild' is not, though, strictly true, even if the project as presented does have his fingerprints all over it: the original plan was for a combined street/purpose-built track running along the marina of the island, one of the largest of a cluster which includes Saadiyat Island - home of the Louvre Abu Dhabi (completion date 2012) and the Guggenheim Museum (2011/12).

Some background: In January last year an F1 extravaganza was staged in Abu Dhabi, at which the grand prix, to make its debut in 2009, was announced. The original hybrid circuit design, from the pen of F1's primary architect Herman Tilke, was soon dumped in favour of a permanent track at the suggestion of PG.

PG had been asked for an opinion by Sheik Khaldoon Al Mubara, driving force behind the project and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Affairs Authority. He is also CEO of Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund which owns a 5% slice of Ferrari, and hence plans for the construction of a Ferrari World theme park on the island are no surprise.

Mubara was obviously impressed with the input of Gurdjian, for the Sheik immediately invited the advertising man to head the project. Much has changed since, with Tilke basically being responsible for the black stuff, whilst Gurdjian has taken charge of the rest. And, that 'rest' is a massive development which dwarfs even such futuristic facilities as Shanghai.

Yas Island is much more than a race track; in fact, the circuit takes up only about 5% of the land available on an island which will be linked to mainland by two routes: a massive elevated 12-lane (yes) highway running from Emirates Palace on the Corniche in Abu Dhabi (city), and a short bridge linking Yas and Abu Dhabi (state).

The Yas Island circuit © Abu Dhabi GP

The airport, at which the state-owned (and Ferrari sponsor) Etihad airline is based is around 10 kilometres from the circuit, so no problems are expected with access, whilst Dubai is just 90 dual-highway kilometres to the north.

The island itself will eventually house a marina able to berth the biggest superyachts in the world (rumour has it that the biggest of its genre, at 116m, is owned by the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince), with golf courses, retail centres, upmarket residential developments and a leisure complex to be added in due course.

One of the most spectacular features of the circuit is the hotel, made even more spectacular by a piece of race track running right through. Forget Singapore, where a portion of the track passed beneath a grandstand; on Yas Island the track runs under the main hotel, which is then linked directly to the pit/paddock/Paddock Club area by a bridge.

Similarly creative and novel solutions have been incorporated across the board. "If you consider traditional race tracks, the spectators are too far away from the action due to run-off areas," Gurdijan explained as he pointed to the grandstand at the end of the main straight on which top speeds of around 320 km/h cars are.

"But we have raised the grand stand and made the run-off area underneath, and that way the spectators can be closer to the circuit," he continued with obvious pride, "and over there we are building more hotels for the media and teams. We can use golf carts to get them to the circuit."

It is obvious that the grand prix circuit is aimed at high rollers: "It will be," he explained, "the only grand prix where all the spectators sit in covered grand stands, and be a totally unique event. Grands prix today are two things: sporting contests and media events, and we are planning to bring the best of both."

Asked about a night race, Gurdjian repeated what he told this columnist on the grid in Singapore, namely that the attraction of the city's race was the night-time skyline. So, despite recent rumours that Abu Dhabi was considering a night race, it seems the circuit will let the marina do its talking in daylight, and not hide it at night.

Gurdjian, though, left the door wide open. "I have some ideas," he allowed, "and if we do something like that, it will be totally unique..."

All of which begs the question: how many spectators can the circuit accommodate? "50 000" is the short and sweet answer, but the twinkle in Phillipe's eye suggests their overall spend may justifiably be 15 or even 20 times that of traditional grand prix visitors.

But, Bahrain has not, since its inception in 2004, attracted north of 40,000 punters, so what chance of Yas attracting 25% more? Yes, Bahrain does not have the cache of the UAE whilst not being the most accessible Middle East destination for many, but, still, has optimism not overtaken reality?

The Abu Dhabi GP offices © Abu Dhabi GP

Given that Abu Dhabi is the wealthiest emirate within the UAE, with the average net worth of its 420 000 citizens being around £10m ($17m), filling the place should not pose a problem - and that is even before the 400 000-odd expatriates (mostly on lucrative contracts) are factored into the equation.

Then, thousands of Dubai's corporate citizens will surely aim their air-conditioned luxobarges south-west for the 45-minute journey, whilst the inhabitants of the other five UAE states are not exactly poverty stricken. Then, the Omani border is around an hour away, and Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain are all within easy flying distance. But, the real target market is Europe - around six hours away by air, but, crucially, on virtually the same time zone, making a weekend visit highly feasible.

Plus, of course, the inaugural race will be the 2009 finale, and if bookings for this year's Brazilian race are anything to go by, Abu Dhabi is in for a full-house and Gurdjian may just find that he has chronically underestimated demand - all of which is manna for a marketing man.

In fact, the only doubts at present surround the completion date of this enormous project, "We are on schedule to hold the race in November," said communications director Thomas Hofmann during an interview in the Abu Dhabi townhouse serving as HQ whilst bespoke quarters are constructed on Yas - 20 or so kilometres away. That said, both marina and grand prix are both long-term projects, so continuous developments are to be expected.

Thus, five years after the concept of a designer media grand prix was floated, the plan to do one just is but a year away from reality - but with one vital difference: the venue was not even a blip on F1's radar when the rumours first started.

And, where Ricard's Paddock Club guests would have faced the inconvenience of helicopter rides along the Cote d'Azur, Abu Dhabi's jet-set can simply cross a bridge from their hotel as cars race by underneath it; where the media would have faced hikes up back roads, they can catch carts to work.

That the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be one of the most spectacular races in the history of F1, one ranking right up there with Singapore, is a given. But, there can (and probably will) be further night races, whereas Abu Dhabi will be ... what's the word ... unique.