The following was posted on the local forums. The article is supposedly from Today, but I could not locate it online. Anyway it is reproduced in full; don't sue me, I'm claiming fair use.
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Get real, Singapore
Weekend interview with racing ace Denis Lian
Today
June 4, 2005
He won the Formula 2000 Asian Championship in 2002. Denis Lian, a manager with EuroSports Auto, was the first to approach the A1 Grand Prix organisers to host a leg of their inaugural series.
After negotiations broke down between A1 and Singapore last week to host a leg here, the 32-year-old talks to Ian De Cotta about the problems that dogged the proposed deal.
Q: Why do you think Singapore rejected hosting the A1 Grand Prix?
Dennis: I'm not condoning reckless decision-making. But I have to say the problem with us is that we over-analyse things. We were afraid to take the risk because A1 does not have a proven track record and there was a chance of failure.
Losing money is not really an issue, because Singapore can afford it. But there is a greater fear that if something fails, there will be a loss of "face" and that the person who "okayed" the decision would have his or her career at risk. We are just too cautious, too kiasu for our own good.
Q: Was there a problem with television rights?
Dennis: Like I said, the Singapore parties involved (Singapore Tourism Board and Singapore Sports Council) were sceptical about A1 racing as it did not have a proven track record and they were not too sure about the television airtime.
But being an inaugural series, the A1 people were working on airtime and still are, as we speak. Look at the bigger picture, do you think a world championship event of this magnitude will not have decent television coverage?
The main backer is UAE's Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum, a multi-billionaire.
Anyway, A1 recently released initial details of airtime, and although it's not as much as F1, it does reach out to more continents.
Q: What caused the negotiations to break down?
Dennis: In the beginning A1 were asked to justify their costs and how their model worked, but A1 wanted to protect their business formula and told us we had to sign a non-disclosure agreement first. I think that was reasonable. But STB said that government agencies couldn't sign such agreements and this was the source of the problem with negotiations.
But the US$9 million ($16 million) package offered to Singapore was for putting together a street circuit and running a race team. From what I understand, it was the most attractive package offered to any country. If we spent anything more than the US$9 million, A1 would cover the difference.
Q: What has Singapore missed out on?
Denis: From the A1 group alone, there would have been at least 2,000 staff who would have stayed in Singapore for seven days. In terms of hotel stay, that is at least 14,000 room nights for the duration. If they spend an average of $250 a day, you don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out that is $3.5 million into our coffers. And the figure does not include spouses, girlfriends, families, the army of journalists and race fans from all over the world who would be here for at least four or five days. Talk about the venue, consider that when grand prix racing was last held here in 1973, about 300,000 fans turned up. At $50 for a grandstand ticket, the venue for A1 has the potential of not only being self-financing but highly profitable.
Q: But it has been 32 years, do you think Singapore could attract such crowds?
Denis: All the more, because now we have a much bigger and more sophisticated population.
I am confident that even if you bring in a less glamorous race like the World Touring Championships, we can still pull in 300,000 people. Singaporeans love their cars.
Q: Would Singapore have said yes to A1 if given more time?
Denis: More time would of course have been better. But if we couldn't react based on the facts that we already had, which were pretty conclusive, it means we lack the entrepreneurial spirit.
The world is changing rapidly and a lot of new ideas and concepts are coming up. If we want to insist on previous track records, we won't be able to embrace new ideas and exciting concepts.
This is where the Malaysians are more daring. They are ahead of us when it comes to securing key sporting events and taking advantage of tourism opportunities.
Q: How do you think A1 will go?
Denis: I am certain it will be a huge success. You have established countries, especially in Europe, with a long history in motor racing, who have become part of A1.
The UK, the USA and Australia are old hands in organising races and they already see the potential of the series. They have been waiting for an alternative to F1 to come along, but no one previously had the money to organise something on a huge scale.
Now, we have the Sheikh who has already spent $250 million to build and deliver the cars to teams. His concept of nation against nation is a real world championship that could really work.
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