Roaring start for F1

Admiring a Ferrari displayed at the Hong Kong Airport during the inaugural of the Shanghai F1 in 2004

The 2006 season of F1 racing started with a roaring success in Bahrain last Sunday.

2005 Champion Fernando Alonzo of Renault grabbed the top spot with a superb pit stop strategy with just a few laps remaining. The sensational move relegated Michael Schumacher of Ferrari, who led much of the the race, to second spot. Kimi Raikkonen of McLaren was third.

The wonders of the live telecast of the races gave us anywhere in the world with a front seat view of the sounds and sights of F1 races. I am lucky in the Davao City, Philippines because the Sunday races are beamed on just the right primetime slots, either afternoons or evenings.

But, of course, I longed to be right where the action is – at the racetracks! The nearest to Davao is at Sepang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the site of the next race this Sunday.

I plan to go there next year. Maybe.

In my January 9 column at the Mindanao Times, I attempted to tease local travel agents in Davao to package a tour to KL via the Davao-Singapore flight of Silkair. I wanted to know how much it would cost me. Unfortunately, there was no taker.

Maybe with the help of this blog, I might be able to awaken them to the potentials of looking at this fast-growing sports tourism market.

The other races in Asia are as exciting – October 1 in Shanghai, China, and October 8 in Suzuka, Japan.