Central powers up for racing

International motor racing returns to Hong Kong after four years with the SAR hosting the final round of the electric car FIA World Rallycross Championship for a first time at the Central Harbourfront next month.

Organizer the World RX Hong Kong team is set to put the final touches on a 1,225-meter circuit, composed of gravel and asphalt sections.

And that will be the first race circuit created in Hong Kong.

Racing on November 11-12 will see over 20 events each day, including qualifying, preliminaries, promotions, knockouts and finals of the World Drivers' Championship and events for local drivers.

There will be 10 overseas racers and 35 from Hong Kong, Macau and the mainland.

Five cars feature in each race, with 10 vehicles to be used throughout the championship.

Organizer chief executive Leslie Wong said the venue can accommodate 8,000 people, while there is also a free entry zone at Tamar Park in Admiralty.

The event is costing at least HK$90 million to stage, with the decision to organize the championship made after the International MotorXpo at the AsiaWorld Expo in December.

The championship will overlap with the Macau Grand Prix, but Automobile Association vice president Julian Cheung Kim-hung is confident the turnout will not be affected for the first all-electric motorsport competition in Asia. Hong Kong also hosts the first FIA international race for men and women.

But the mixed World RX will showcase only one female driver - Klara Andersson of Sweden from the Volvo Construction Equipment Dealer Team.

The 23-year-old Andersson noted it will be her first race in Asia.

On the differences between driving on an autodrome and a city circuit, Andersson said she was excited by having for scenery skyscrapers and the harborfront.

"Rallycross's first quarter has always been very dramatic when there are five or six cars all trying to take the lead," she noted, adding she has been looking forward to a beautiful view at the fourth turn.

"And the gravel sections - they may drive you sideways. And you could see gravel flying everywhere."

The circuit will consist of tight turns and hairpin turns as well as an alternative Joker section, which is 23 meters shorter than the standard lap but tighter, with more twists and slower. The Joker merges with the main circuit just before the finish.

It has been four years since the SAR held the Formula E event in Central.

And the World RX championship has been held in Portugal, Norway, Sweden, Britain, Belgium and Germany between June and August plus South Africa this month.

As the final stop on the RX series this event will see an overall champion, and racing will be followed by prize presentations.

Additionally, five winners from I Am a Racer - a rallycross-themed reality show that premiered on Sunday on HOYTV, will compete on the circuit in Central.

Ticket sales started yesterday online via Ticketflap from HK$310 for general admission, HK$860 for grandstand, while a Grandstand VIP zone weekend pass for 30 people costs HK$59,400.

A jazz party is set, with tickets from HK$350.

The Transport Department said officials have been discussing with the organizer and police traffic arrangements.