Freeze on Kymiring: The next soap bubble?
Has the client of the Kymirings in Finland already run out of money? Is a motorcycle GP in Scandinavia 2019 or 2020 just utopia?
More than 50 rapporteurs were gathered as Dorna Sports CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta, Dorna Sporting Manager Carlos Ezpeleta, European Minister Sampo Terho, KymiRing CEO Kari O. Sohlberg and Finnish Motorcycling Federation boss Tapio Nevala and KymiRing project manager Timo Pohjola announced the plans for the new permanent race track in Finland last August.
The Dorna announced that they would try to include the Grand Prix 2019 in the GP calendar.
A few days later leaked, that this schedule is illusory given the tight budget of the racetrack builders. The Grand Prix could take place at the earliest in 2020, was heard by Finnish motorsport experts.
Now, many Finnish media are already asking whether the Kymiring backers may have run out of money, whether the MotoGP project might just be a soap bubble.
Fact: The Finns have started with a narrow gauge budget. So far, around 8 million euros have been invested, with a total of 30 to 40 million to be invested in the 4.6 km run 110 km north-east of Helsinki.
For comparison, the conversion of the Red Bull Ring alone has devoured more than 100 million, but there was already the layout of the route.
The Kymiring operators counted for the MotoGP event with a lot of spectator interest from Russia.
The high-circulation daily newspaper Iltasanomat now reports that a Finnish billionaire has announced that he will not invest any money in the racetrack.
We are talking about Antti Aarnio Wihuri, whose company Wihuri acts as a sponsor of the Formula 1 Mercedes by Valtteri Bottas. Antti Aarnio Wihuri is quoted as saying that he considers Kymiring to be an unprofitable investment. And further: "MotoGP feels at this time as an unrealistic dream."
Does the Dorna experience the next flop in Finland after the defeat with the GP track in Chile and the Circuit of Wales, which was supposed to host the British Grand Prix in 2015 and was never tackled?
A Finnish reporter inquired worried because there had been no construction noise around the Kymiring for weeks. What is going on there?
"We have a rest day on Friday," was heard by the operators.
It would have to be felled trees first, then the construction work on the track could be continued.
But visitors are struck by the fact that for months no Caterpillar vehicles were in use, that the earth movements have come to a standstill months ago. "Do you have a day off every day," a reporter asked.
Actually, the first layer of asphalt was supposed to have been applied, but first there was talk of summer, then autumn.
Since June 2017 critical reports on this project can be heard on the Finnish radio.
Then it was reported in late September that a storm had 400 trees uprooted or damaged around the Kymiring area. For this reason, the access roads were blocked for the construction vehicles.
But those who looked around the arena did not see the 400 destroyed trees. Another fairy tale?
The locals know the background. The money had become scarce, therefore, no earth movements had taken place for months. The companies had withdrawn the emergency vehicles long ago from Kymiring, they tell the curious and alert local reporters.
In the meantime, an insider reported that the Dorna press conference in August had taken place, not least because of this, in order to arouse some media attention and to attract investors.
But apparently no fresh money was found. "The operators have their hands full to raise the necessary money for the race track construction," is heard from Finnish motor sports circles.
Too bad, the Kymiring made so far the impression of a sympathetic, grassroots project. There is no modern racetrack all over Scandinavia.
But one can imagine that such a circuit can only be in operation for five or six months because of the long, harsh winter. Whether it can be managed profitably in the face of such obstacles is indeed questionable.
If the operators can not solve their financial bottleneck, Finland's GP on the 1992 Imatra road circuit will forever have been the last stage of a motorcycle GP.
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