Battle to rev up fans for GP
With three days to go until the final day of the 2005 Formula One championship, grand prix fever was slow in arriving in Shanghai and organisers and city authorities were revving up their efforts to make sure of a packed house for the race on Sunday.
The 10 teams competing started arriving at the state-of-the-art track in China's biggest city.
The Shanghai race is the last in the 19-leg Formula One World Championship - the longest season ever.
'We're pleased that the season is ending in a nice place like Shanghai. It's been a long season,' said Mark Webber, the BMW Williams driver.
Renault's Fernando Alonso has already won the drivers' title already but the constructors' trophy will be fiercely contested, with Renault holding a slim a two-point lead over rival McLaren in the standings.
The paddock was buzzing with engineers in overalls getting the cars ready for the race.
But even though there was a buzz out at the track, the public has proved harder to crack and ticket sales have been sluggish, far slower than last year when the track was inaugurated.
'The sales figure so far indicates that around 110,000 spectators will attend the main race day on Sunday. I hope the actual turnout will be higher when the race begins on Sunday afternoon,' Yu Zhifei, general manager of the Shanghai International Circuit operators, said.
Fearful of empty seats at the Shanghai circuit, organisers are pulling out all the stops to boost the spectator figures. There were about 260,000 spectators last year for the three-day event, with the stands packed with 150,000 fans on the Sunday.
However, the novelty factor is absent this year and many Chinese spectators are unwilling to shell out for expensive tickets.
The circuit, which was built on marshland in Jiading, a district 30km northeast of the city centre, is over an hour's drive from the city even when the traffic is clear and getting there can be a headache.
To get around this, the organisers have put on 3,300 free shuttle buses between the city and the circuit.
'I went last year but didn't go this year as I couldn't get cheaper tickets. So we're going to stay at home to watch it with the family, have some nice food,' said Cai Weichun, 21, a student.
Pan Chenhua and Xin Yiwen, also students, were sporting their Ferrari red shirts at the launch of the Ferrari megastore in Shanghai's exclusive Xintiandi district.
Both women were going, though they had stretched their budgets to findover 1,000 yuan to pay for their tickets.
'I spent my scholarship money on the tickets,' said Xin. 'But I love Ferrari and I love Michael Schumacher.'
