RESEARCH TO EXAMINE WHAT LEVELS OF SUPPORT EXIST FOR THAILAND TO HOST OF FORMULA 1 RACE AND THE LIKELY IMPACTS OF ANY SUCH EVENT

Abstract

The objectives of this study ranged from presenting an integrated academic achievement of feasibility analysis on a Formula One event in Thailand to explore the possible alternatives for any potential event and understanding the ramifications of the decision for planning such an event. There were two tranches to this thesis, the first was a study of the public perceptions of all factors affecting any event and the second tranche takes that information and uses it to analyze the financial implications. The findings indicated that a Formula One event in Thailand would be financially feasible, based on a street circuit in Bangkok and there was significant support for government funding. However, there was a gap between the expected revenue and the costs. The study concluded that such an event was overwhelmingly popular and the perception was that it was extremely positive (91.1%). A large majority of those sampled believed that it was acceptable to use government money to support such a bid to bring Formula One to Thailand (68.8%).The results suggested that there is little ambiguity in choosing the track location, with costs and timescales prohibiting any building of a specialist venue. The only logical and financial proposal is for the track to be a street circuit located in Bangkok.
(Journal of Sports Science and Technology 2014;14(1): 131 -144 )
KEYWORDS: Formula 1; Research strands; Peripheral events; Geopolitical; Thailand