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China F1 unaffected by Shanghai scandal

(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-01-17 15:35

China's Formula One Grand Prix will be unaffected byShanghai's corruption scandal and will go ahead as planned in October, state media reported on Wednesday.

Yu Zhifei, general manager of Shanghai International Circuit (SIC), has been under investigation since October in connection with the social security scandal that official media has described as the city's biggest since the start of economic reforms in the 1980s.

Circuit chairman Mao Xiaohan told a news conference on Tuesday, however, that the city remained committed to international motorsport.

"The SIC, as a corporation, is not involved in the investigation at all," Mao was quoted as saying by the Shanghai Daily. "Some people acted completely on their own."

"More than one-sixth of the 2007 calendar is filled with motorsport events at the venue," he added. "Majors like the MotoGP and Formula One Chinese Grand Prix will all go ahead as planned."

The state of the art $350 million Shanghai track, which can seat 200,000 people, has hosted three Formula One races since opening in 2004.

The penultimate round of this year's Formula One championship will take place on October 7, while the China round of the motorcycling world championship is on May 6.