Just to wrap it up: the French Grand Prix of the Formula 1 is not going to move to the Disneyland Resort Paris. Since the French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours was taken off the Formula 1 calendar various locations in particular in the vicinity of Paris had put themselves forward as possible locations for a new race cours for the Grand Prix. If one believed earlier reports – which were reported about here on DLP.info as well as on the Mousekingdom Blog – besides the idea of conducting the Grand Prix on the streets in the center of Paris one of the most promising proposals was to construct the new course on the property of the Disneyland Resort Paris … or at least that was what one could understand from the reports coming out of the Formula 1 circuit…
While fans and experts argued whether this was a good decision business wise for the resort or not (the Grand Prix itself would have been organized not by the resort but a new company – important since the actual Grand Prix in other countries such as Germany seem to loose money according to press reports), the idea itself was welcomed even by Bernie Ecclestone. Afterall the Disneyland Resort Paris would have been a rather well known location, would have offered great infrastructure and already attracts millions of tourists some of which might have “stopped” by the Grand Prix as well.
Anyway, the whole discussion seems to be futile now, since press reports such as by Autosport.com and Spox.com indicate that the French motor sport association FFSA has decided to opt for the proposal to build the new course near Flins-Les Mureaux about 40 kilometer northwest of Paris. With costs of approx. 112 million Euro it is reported to have been the cheapest proposal and might be ready in time for the 2011 F1 season. However, since the new location is close by Paris (even so on the other side of the side if seen from DLRP) and close to a highway, fans could still decide to pay a visit to DLRP with their families when traveling to Paris for the Grand Prix…
P.S.: for the Formula 1 fans reading this news it might be of interest, that the Formula 1 theme park in Abu Dhabi, called F1-X, has been “suspended” earlier this year – more details on that can be found on a recent update on the theme park projects in Dubai und Abu Dhabi published on the Mousekingdom Blog.