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The chances of racing the last GP of the season in Valencia seemed practically nil, yesterday. However, the situation changed diametrically this morning. Spearheading the idea ending the World Championship at the Ricardo Tormo circuit is FIM President Jorge Viegas, who confirmed this hypothesis in no uncertain terms.
"I'm in favor of racing in Valencia. I think our presence could help the population," he told GPOne. "We're trying to organize the Grand Prix and, at the same time, a fundraiser. I have deep respect for the people affected by the disaster, but the race would bring money to that area. Everything, however, depends on the government. They'll tell us whether or not organizing the GP will be possible. If it is, we're willing to postpone the date, November 24th or even December."
In the paddock, this news has not been well received and managers and riders are clearly against it, some of them would even be considering not racing if Valencia is confirmed.
Right now, it's difficult to even think about racing in the area hit by Cyclone Dana, where the death toll is currently 158 people and the number of people missing is 120,000. The circuit is being used to accommodate families left without a roof over their heads.
Moving the GP by one or more weeks would change little. The situation isn't going to return to normal anytime soon, and the consensus among those in the industry is that such an event would cause more problems than anything else. As Viegas explained, it's going to be up to the Spanish government to decide.
As for the circuits that could be available as a replacement, Barcelona no longer seems like an option. Even the proposal of racing at Sepang, which is available to host a second GP, wasn't received that well. That leaves Qatar (where the Formula 1 will race the weekend of December 1st) and Portimão. This is the current situation at the moment, since it's constant evolution, and many doubt that a decision will be made by this weekend.
