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Who ever would have thought a Will Ferrell movie would ever be considered "prophetic," even jokingly? The absurd story of a French racing driver switching over from F1 to stock cars as the last remaining challenge is coming to life again and again. But unlike Jacques Villeneuve (or Colombian driver Juan Pablo Montoya), Jean Alesi isn't gunning for NASCAR. The former Formula One star is the first big name to sign on to the Speedcar Series.

The new racing league will pit 24 drivers against each other in identical 600-hp stock cars in 18 races over 9 weekends across Asia. We hope to get a glimpse at the cars in a few days when Alesi hits the Virginia International Raceway for the first test session on March 5-6. What we know now is that the specially-built cars will feature a tubular fiberglass chassis and power from 600-hp engines built in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The inaugural season of the Speedcar Series, which is backed by F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone, kicks off in November and runs through April 2008.

[Source: Speedcar Series via F1-Live]

The Emirates are gearing up for the opening of FerrariWorld in Abu Dhabi, but they won't have the monopoly for long, it seems. Union Properties, a real estate development company based in nearby Dubai, has secured the rights from Bernie Ecclestone's Formula One Management to construct a series of F1 theme parks around the world.

Wait a second, a series? Not just one? That's right. Union Properties is thinking big, and spending big. The first will be built in Dubai, with construction set to begin soon with a targeted opening date in 2009... right around the same time as FerrariWorld is set to open its doors. The company anticipates signing a deal for the second park some time this year, likely to be constructed somewhere in Europe. A third park in the Far East would be the next location, but Union Properties would be wise to take things one step at a time and take a page out of the Disney playbook. Disney's theme parks steadily grew in size and number over the span of decades, and while parks in Anaheim, Orlando and Tokyo might be raking in the dough (or is that the Dow?), EuroDisney was not quite the runaway success they'd hoped for.

One thing's for sure, Union isn't cheaping out on the cost. The Dubai park is budgeted for $360 million, and the company is borrowing $1.6 billion to build 'em all. This should be interesting.

[Source: GrandPrix.com]

With Abu Dhabi expected to announce its contract for a grand prix this coming Saturday, you'd be forgiven for thinking Bahrain was off the grid. You'd be forgiven, but you'd be wrong.

The small Gulf state has hosted the Bahrain Grand Prix since 2004 with an exclusive contract for the only F1 race in the entire Middle East & North Africa region, and though nobody outside the organization knows the precise terms of the contract – namely, when the exclusivity clause expires – insiders estimate that it runs out in 2008, leaving the door open for Abu Dhabi to host its own race as early as 2009. But that doesn't mean the Bahrain Grand Prix is history – they spent $150 million to build the Sakhir track and have yet to recuperate all the costs. Casting a shadow over the impending festivities in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain has announced its extending its contract with Bernie Ecclestone, possibly all the way through 2019.

The question remains over how many F1 races the region can support. With a small population, Bahrain was banking on attracting spectators (read: tourists) from all over the Middle East, but the grandstands have been conspicuously empty. And though the geo-political debate continues over Turkey's situation in Europe or the Middle East, either way it's not far away, bordering Syria, Iran and Iraq. Abu Dhabi is banking on its grand prix becoming just one part of the Yas Island development, but with that many races in a region where F1 is still an emerging field, it may be too much too fast. Then again, that's what F1 is all about.

Related posts:

• F1 circuit to join Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi
• Update: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix announcement may come Feb1
  

[Source: GrandPrix.com]