Spain's Prosecutor's Office has "begun an investigation into alleged corruption and embezzlement in the awarding of contracts" to hold the '12 F1 race in Valencia, according to the AP. The writ names Francisco Camps, a former president of the Valencia region, Dolores Johnson, a tourism official, and Jorge Martinez, a shareholder in Valmor Sports, "the company that Camps assigned the hosting rights to after securing them" from F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone. The writ asks Valencia's courts to investigate "alleged irregularities, including how Camps allowed a private company with no experience in motorsport and only 12 employees, to operate the multimillion-dollar event." The writ "names Camps as a suspect in cases of misappropriation of public funds and corruption." Valencia hosted the European GP for five years to '12, "but not another F1 race since then" (AP, 12/19). CRASH reported Spain's "unsuccessful bid to run a second F1 event looks set to end in greater ignominy." Valencia "had been due to alternate with Barcelona as the home of the Spanish Grand Prix" from '14, but "attempted to withdraw from its long-term contract with Formula One Management" when a change of local government officials determined that the €40M ($49M) event was a "drain on financial resources." The Valencia street circuit began to "fall into disrepair within seven months of home hero Fernando Alonso's victory in the 2012 European Grand Prix, with looted electrics, flooded access tunnels" and sewers without manhole covers. Ecclestone has "cast doubt on the much-hyped race ever making the calendar, having been left out of 2015 plans" (CRASH, 12/21).
