08/08/2009
NEWS STORY
Over a week ahead of the FIA hearing in Paris which will decide whether Renault will contest the European Grand Prix in Valencia, race organizers claim that (local hero) Fernando Alonso will take part.
While the Valencia event hasn't exactly won the hearts of race fans or drivers, the return of Michael Schumacher, who is replacing Felipe Massa, has caused a late rush on tickets. However, on the down side, promoters fear that the possible absence of Alonso, whose team is banned from the race after being adjudged as compromising safety regulations in Hungary, could cause fans of the Spaniard to stay away.
However, Carlos Moreno-Figueroa, operations director for the Valencia event, remains confident that the ban will be overturned at the International Court of Appeal hearing on August 17 and that Alonso will line up on the grid just six days later.
"I call on all those who are doubting whether or not to buy a ticket depending on the presence of Alonso to do so," he told the Costa Levante News. "We are being told from every side that he will be in Valencia."
Meanwhile, another spokesperson for the organizers revealed that Schumacher's return to the F1 cockpit had helped sell ten-thousand tickets in just one week.