Already named 'Motorsport Facility of the Year' (!!!), Sochi Autodrom has been announced winner of the 2014 Race Promoters' Trophy by FOM.

According to the official press release: "In its debut operational season, Sochi Autodrom, which has also recently been named 'Motorsport Facility of the Year', hosted a number of important international, national and regional events.

"Besides hosting the Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix, Sochi Autodrom will soon launch its Driving Academy that will contribute to the motorsport development in Krasnodar region and Russia. The programme will include driver education in general with focus on defensive driving, and an aim to install greater safety awareness on Russian roads."

The award, which was announced at the annual FIA Gala ceremony on Friday in Qatar, will be presented on December 19th, during an official visit of FIA and FOM officials to Sochi.

The sceptics among you will not be surprised; even if the typically anodyne nature of the track produced one of the most instantly forgettable races of the year, the event will at least be remembered as the first (in living memory) where drivers assembled before the race for the national anthem - having been ordered not to speak - and the host nation's president was allowed to visit the ante-room to greet the winner before the podium ceremony, despite having missed the first half of the race.

Sochi isn't the first time a race has won the Promoters Trophy in its debut season, though the omens are not god.

India's Buddh International Circuit won the award in 2011 (and again in 2012), only to disappear from the calendar after the third running of the event. Likewise Bahrain won in 2004, Singapore in 2008, Abu Dhabi in 2009 and Korea in 2010. Indeed, as far back as 1994, the AIDA circuit won the award after hosting the Pacific Grand Prix, the Japanese circuit never to be heard of again.

Consequently, those of you with a few bob to spare could do a lot worse than betting on Mexico to win the award in 2015 and Azerbaijan to follow suit in 2016.

In all honesty, it's the total lack of unsubtlety, the lack of any attempt to gloss over the BS that so permeates our sport these days, that truly rankles.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by jfagan, 10/12/2014 14:09

"Sochi with its images of Bernie with his tongue up Putin's bum - or was it the other way around - made me feel physically sick. Bernie is totally past his sell-by, the FIA ought to hang its head in shame. What became of the sport I loved?
If I was in the marketing departments at MB, Honda, Ferrari or Renault I'd be looking VERY closely at the WEC regulations.
How about two 24 Hour sports car races (Le Mans & Daytona) plus six 2x2x2 (two hour races, with two drives at each, on Saturday and Sunday) at Spa, Silverstone, Suzuka, Texas, Monza and Laguna Seca? Real men in real cars on real circuits - where can I get my season pass?"

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2. Posted by Spindoctor, 10/12/2014 13:44

"@alfsboy:
Given the number of Sovie..sorry Russians already in Mayfair, I think that would be an empty threat!"

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3. Posted by Paul C, 09/12/2014 21:47

"Like his purloined Super Bowl ring, Vladimir Putin would probably have stolen the award from any other recipient after he admired it at the ceremony."

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4. Posted by TheBucketOfTruth, 09/12/2014 0:00

"My guess was Abu Dhabi before reading this, but this makes more sense. Do you get any kind of monetary gain by winning or is it just a recognition so a bunch of crooks in suits can jerk each other off?"

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5. Posted by alfsboy, 08/12/2014 23:15

"Bernie had to make Sochi the winner as Putin had threatened to invade(sorry liberate) Mayfair if he was denied .
"

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6. Posted by Sennapod, 08/12/2014 14:44

"Would love to see what objectivity there was behind this vote, or was a secretive football-world-cup like 'you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours'

then again I can't believe the FIA is *quite* as opaque a FIFA regarding how decisions are reached"

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Surprise, surprise; guess who's won the 2014 Race Promoters' Trophy?

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