Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) governor Sakol Wannapong has set himself an uphill task of bringing a Formula One race to the Kingdom, a venture that carries a price tag as high as four billion baht.
The 2012 Race of Champions at Bangkok's Rajamangala National Stadium.
Sakol, who was appointed SAT chief recently, held a meeting with executives of the organisation to unveil his policy yesterday.
He said he wanted Thailand to host a Formula One race next year with Muang Thong Thani in Bangkok's outskirts and Chon Buri among the candidates to be the venue.
The idea for Thailand to host a Grand Prix was first floated by Sakol's predecessor Kanokphan Chulakasem a few years ago.
"It is good and we should continue the plan,'' Sakol said.
Sakol said organising a Grand Prix may need a budget of four billion baht and that he was looking for sponsors.
When Kanokphan was SAT governor, Thailand organised the Race of Champions in Bangkok twice in 2011 and 2012 featuring Formula One greats Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel.
Thai officials hoped it would be a springboard for the country to host a Formula One event. The 2013 Race of Champions was also slated to take place in Thailand but was cancelled due to political uncertainty in the country.
Meanwhile, Virgin Racing's Sam Bird was handed victory in the concluding race of this season's inaugural Formula E championship in London on Sunday as Brazil's Nelson Piquet Jr took the overall title.
France's Stephane Sarrazin (Venturi) crossed the line first but was immediately handed a 49-second time penalty for exceeding energy usage, giving British driver Bird a win in front of his home crowd.
Piquet, the son of three-time Formula One champion Nelson Piquet Sr, was already the series leader and the China Racing driver finished in seventh place to be crowned the first champion in a competition featuring 100-percent electric cars.
"The championship has been really tough," said Piquet Jr, a 29-year-old former Formula One driver.
"We've got a good group of guys. They trusted me and believed in me."
Meanwhile a delighted Bird said: "What a way to finish, unbelievable, unbelievable.
"The strategy was good as well, we were able to go a lap longer than Stephane, and hounded him all the way to the finish." bangkok post/afp