Ukraine GP ‘frozen’
By Mannix Devlin on 7th Mar 14
The Ukrainian GP, scheduled for August 17, has been put on ice after recent protests have plunged the country into chaos.
While maintaining his trust in his local partners in Donetsk, Youthstream president, Giuseppe Luongo, didn't mince words last Thursday.
"We will not risk the safety of the team members and riders,” he said.
"If the race was scheduled for May then we would cancel today, but my partners locally still believe that there is a possibility that the situation might cool down by August.
"In two months we will see, but if it is not safe for everybody, we will have time to either cancel or replace; at the moment the race is ‘frozen'.”
Donetsk, in the east of Ukraine, is an important centre of industry and has been a stronghold of the democratically-elected government which has been brought down in a US-financed coup.
Luongo also quelled unjustified concerns about this weekend's Thai GP.
He said: "We have had people assessing the situation in Thailand since December, and the unrest has been restricted to a small area in Bangkok surrounding the government buildings.
"There is absolutely no reason for concern.”
He went on to explain that the Belgian GP, currently still without a venue, will either be at Lommel or a new track near Bastogne.
Lommel has priority: "I have reached an agreement with Eric Geboers,” he added.
"Now it is up to the local authorities to commit themselves to the race.
"If they cannot do so, then we will go to Bastogne. A decision will be made in about one month.”
