Organisers say S.Korea will be ready for F1

FORMULA ONE: SEOUL, Oct. 2, 2010 (AFP): South Korea will be ready to host its first Formula One race this month despite concerns about a delayed inspection by the sport's world governing body, organisers said Monday.

"We will have no problem in hosting the race on October 24 as we have almost completed work" on the 5.6-kilometre (3.5-mile) track, Korea Auto Valley Operation (KAVO) spokesman Kim Jae-Ho told AFP.

A final inspection from the sport's world governing body, originally set for September 23, has been delayed, sparking worries that the circuit would not be ready in time.

F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone cast doubt Sunday as to whether South Korea would be ready to host the race. "Well, it's not good. It should have been inspected maybe six weeks ago, which it was inspected but it wasn't passed," he told the BBC.

He said concerns about the newly built track meant it was not clear whether the event would go ahead.

"We normally have a 90-day check before a race and now we are sort of putting this off.

"It's quite dangerous what we've done actually, but I mean it's a case of 'do we cancel the race or not?' They say it is all going to be OK, so we hope they are right," Ecclestone said. The circuit has been constructed on reclaimed land by KAVO, a joint venture between a private firm and the provincial government, at Yeongam, 320 kilometres (200 miles) south of Seoul.

KAVO officials said the inspection from the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) was delayed only because of South Korea's three-day autumn harvest holiday last week.

"We will rush to complete work and FIA officials will see a complete circuit when they conduct a final inspection in two weeks," Kim said. "We take Ecclestone's remarks seriously as a message that we have to step up preparations for the race."