This week former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett claimed that a number of attempts were made on his life after the Australian Grand Prix moved from Adelaide to Melbourne. Crikey, what will happen if the Russian Grand Prix ever moves from Sochi?
Bernie Ecclestone was there on Thursday, stood next to prime minister Vladimir Putin, to announce plans that F1 will set up camp in the Olympic city from 2014. This is Bernie's dream, and he's been working on it since the late 1970s when he was in discussion with Leonid Brezhnev. There were several attempts, notably in 1983, to put Russia on the grand prix calendar but each time it was blocked.
In the early '00s there were other plans, focused on Moscow, but disputes over commercial contracts resulted in the firing of bullets. This 2014 event will be a real test of the new Russian regime. The only mafia Bernie wants running the show is his mafia. Bernie has disclosed that he's been looking to do deals with all Olympic venue: "In all the Olympic cities I have been to so far these venues are often almost never used after the games," he said. "I think it is very important that these things are thought through properly, and, obviously, that is being done in Sochi."
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