A Ferrari fan joins in a lion dance at the Shanghai International Circuit yesterday.

Shanghai Daily news

MAX Mosley, president of the International Automobile Federation, yesterday predicted a bright future for the Chinese motor sport but also warned against making the sport expensive and exclusive.
“There are probably more than one Michael Schumacher walking around the streets of Shanghai who has never driven a racing car,” said the head of the sports world governing body at the Shanghai International Circuit yesterday.
“The soaring ratio of car ownership in this country means more people will drive and when they drive they would start to think about competing. And the enormous population of this country means the potential is always there. And if any Chinese driver does achieve success on the international arena in the years come, the whole country will be behind him and that will generate huge interest in the sport.”
Mosley arrived at the circuit yesterday and said he was amazed by the grandeur of the venue, which he had seen being built two years ago at the launching ceremony.
“It’s mind blowing,” said the 64-year-old motorsport chief. “It’s for sure one of the best circuits in the world, if not the best.”
The 2.6-billion yuan (US$325 million) infrastructure was built on a deserted swamp area and incorporates some of the cuttingedge architectural technologies.
Staging a Formula One race at such a state-of-art facility itself, said Mosley, will be a catalyst to the development of the sport in the country. “Kids will watch it and find their own role models,” said Mosley. “And then they’ll take part in it themselves.”
But the veteran motorsport guru, who’s overseen the FIA for more than a decade, also warned against the soaring costs that may hurt China’s pursuit of becoming an auto racing  powerhouse.
“Federation of Automobile Sports China, the domestic governor, should pursue various ways to make the sport inexpensive,” said Mosley. “Lower the monetary threshold of those entry-level series, like go-kart, to make the sport more accessible. FASC should make that a priority and FIA will try to do its best to help them on that.”
Motorsport is definitely a very expensive sport by Chinese standard.
The cost for running a full season in Asian Formula BMW Championship, a junior racing event which will support the Chinese Grand Prix over the weekend, runs up to US$250,000 a year while the country’s per capita average disposable income for urban residents barely touches US$1,000.
Mosley, meanwhile, Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone’s scenario of big teams running three cars next season in the wake of Ford’s withdrawal.
Ecclestone, Formula One’s commercial rights holder, wants top teams to run three cars in grand prix, rather than the current two, to ensure full grids of 20 cars. But Mosley believes that is an ill-conceived “short-term” measure which will not solve the deep-rooted problems the sport faces.
“I’m not sure at all whether they can put in the third car because that will cost each of them significantly more. Where will be the money come from?” he said, hinting that it would spell disaster for the sport.
Mosley thought Jaguar would find an appropriate buyer and Jordan and Minardi would find ways to stay in F1. “That’s the most likely to happen next season...and in 2006, we might have one or two new teams,” he said.