Korea races to have track ready

Jason Cho, the man in charge of making sure that South Korea's first ever Formula One race goes ahead, is really feeling the pressure.
"Am I stressed," the Korean International Circuit track manager asks. "Just look at my face," he says, and smiles.
The sunglasses come off, but the hard hat stays on. It has to, because organisers KAVO (Korea Auto Valley Operation) acknowledge the circuit is not yet ready, with time running out before the October 24 race.
While KAVO insists it will be finished on time, there are many doubters in F1 circles.
D-Day is September 21 when Charlie Whiting, head of F1's technical department, arrives in the remote southwestern corner of the country, 400km from Seoul, to inspect the track and decide if the race can go ahead. If he gives the thumbs-down, not only will Korea lose this year's event, but the second race of its seven-year agreement.
Construction of the circuit and associated infrastructure began in November 2007 and was initially scheduled to have been finished in July, but even in mid-September, cars and trucks still whizz around the track in a frantic effort to meet the deadline.
Cho's team is working 15 hours a day, seven days a week to get everything ready. The focus of remaining work is to put on the third layer of the track and the various finishing touches. Work will continue up to the eve of Whiting's inspection.
"We will finish all of the circuit in ten days, on September 20th because Charlie Whiting is coming here on September 21," Cho tells AP. "It will be ready, it's a must. If we don't finish then we don't have an event so it will be done in ten days."
WEATHER DELAYS
According to the construction manager, the weather is to blame for delays.
"There has been a lot of rain compared to most years and all this land was all wetland and we had to take all the water out first," explains Cho.
"Seventy per cent of the work was because of hardening the land. If it was just regular land, we could have done it in a year. That made it more technical.
"We are all professionals but we don't have experience in Korea of building tracks up to F1 standard. If there had been a manual of guidelines to follow, it would have made our work much easier and we would have finished sooner."
The 5.615 kilometer counterclockwise circuit is the latest to be designed by Herman Tilke.
The German's tracks often look spectacular, but without producing the thrilling racing of some of the tighter traditional or street circuits.
However F1 driver Karun Chandhok earlier this month did some laps of the unfinished track and was positive about the layout.
About 4 000 fans attended that demonstration, indicating some level of interest in F1.
FAN FEARS
However there have been questions about the likely attendance at the race, given the remoteness of the circuit and F1 having almost no historical connection to Korea.
Peter Baek, deputy marketing manager, acknowledges that Yeongam, the small town nearest the circuit, was not the first choice.
"Initially, our CEO (Yoon Cho Chung) wanted to hold it in Seoul and have a night race that they could race on the street. That was many years ago and it didn't happen."
Seoul's loss is South Jeolla Province's gain and the regional government owns 40 per cent of KAVO. The southwestern province is regarded as the least developed area of the country and the event is being used to put Jeolla on the map both at home and overseas.
Even Korea's efficient and extensive public transport system may struggle to deliver fans on the race weekend, even though KAVO refused to say how many tickets had been sold.
The nearest big city, Mokpo, can currently be reached in just over three hours from Seoul by train. A 30 minute drive from the station gets you to the circuit, though that is on a regular quiet Friday morning rather than an F1 race day.
"Transportation-wise, there are obviously not enough planes going down to the Mokpo area," Baek said.
"During the grand prix however there's going to be chartered flights, buses, trains and all sorts of transportation will be available to the public. It's normally four hours to drive, I wouldn't expect more than four and a half hours even with the traffic."
Privately, organisers admit there will be some traffic problems but are confident that delays will be much shorter than many other Grand Prix locations around the world.
The doubts about the readiness of the circuit have dampened enthusiasm among the Korean public.
"Having a circuit and not having a circuit is a huge difference," admits Baek. "Next year will be better and there will be a fan base established in Korea. The tough part is obviously the construction part; people are asking if it is ready. We are marketing and promoting the event but people think that it isn't ready."
KAVO seems to be growing tired of answering questions about the state of the track.
"The Korean construction industry is very developed and at a high standard. We work fast and get the job done. We have seen in the past at the 2002 World Cup and the 1988 Olympics, there were always questions of 'are you guys ready,' but we always got it done and we are positive that the venue will be ready, and it is almost ready.
"Europeans have a set schedule and want to keep to the schedule as actively as possible but Koreans always get things done."