I'm sorry but I cannot justify going to japan to watch motorsport whilst these people are still living in sports halls and schools.
How much does it cost to host a gp? I dont know! but I do know the money would be better spent helping the people of Japan.
Wrong question: How much money does hosting a GP generate? And where does that money go? Who benefits?
Certainly, the hotels and restaurants around Mito benefit from having the teams stay there, as well as the fans (though numbers are likely to be low). When I go to a race, I spend money at hotels, restaurants, gas stations, occasionally local shops. I use my phone, which generates money for the local telecom providers. I spend money at the track itself, buying drinks and the occasional sandwich. The circuit itself employs a whole host of staff, most of whom live locally, to provide services to the people at the race.
It is a false dichotomy to say that the money spent on the race should go on the recovery effort. The money spent on the race will either be spent on the race, spent elsewhere or not spent at all. There is no guarantee that any of that money will go towards the rebuilding effort.If the race is not held, a lot of small local businesses will lose money, and with less income, the circuit may have to look at firing people, lowering local income even further.
The point is, not organizing the race has some huge downsides. Sure, people are still living in sports halls. But their situation will be completely unaffected, whether the race is held or not. It is completely irrelevant to their situation, the resources dedicated to the rebuilding effort will be completely unaffected by the fact of a MotoGP race. The race could even be of benefit to them, by bringing money into the local area.
Jumkie is completely right to raise 9/11, though as you rightly point out, these are two completely different events. The underlying point is, should all public life grind to a halt after such an event, until such time as the situation is remedied? And if it should, when should life start again? If the criteria is that no races should be held while people are homeless, we could never organize a race anywhere ever again: there are probably hundreds of thousands of homeless people in the US, maybe a hundred thousand in the UK, and similar figures throughout Europe. How can we organize a race when these people have no shelter?
There is definitely a debate to be held over the wisdom of holding a race at Motegi. There are real risks - though as far as I can make out, those risks are very small indeed. There are questions over how much a race would benefit the region - though again, only the current state of some coastal areas of Japan is being highlighted, not the potential economic benefits. But if the MotoGP race should be canceled, then the World Trials Championship round should be canceled too, and Indycar, and the round of the Japanese Superbike championship. What makes MotoGP unique in this respect?
And before anyone asks, I will be gambling my life on this, that is, if Lorenzo stumps up the cash to pay for my trip.
ool table.jpg] and these here are the pot passers and meat sticks
