Although confirmed for the 2009 Formula One calendar long ago, the circuit was still under construction, with several facilities and track elements to be finished.
The lavish Yas Marina Circuit will be one of the most modern race tracks in the world so its wealthy owners wanted to make sure everything was going according to plan and no hiccups would have to be handled.
F1 race director, Charlie Whiting, headed the inspection at the track’s location earlier this week and gave the green light for the circuit as all the targets previously set were accomplished by the organizers.
Yas Marina Circuit CEO, Richard Cregan told in an interview with Autosport he was very happy with the progress for preparing the track and all its facilities.
"Everything is going well, we've had a couple of handovers, and that's the process we're in at the moment, as I call it a 'shakedown' of the circuit”, stated Cregan.
Now attention is directed at the forthcoming GP2 test, for everyone to better assess the track’s condition. “The thing is it's such a complex facility, so many buildings, so many elements to it of how technical the circuit is, so we're going through it step by step. The good thing is we're now doing that, and the first big step for us will be the GP2 test, which will be great,” continued Yas Marina’s CEO.
"Charlie came on Monday and everything he had asked for previously was done. He's also coming here for the GP2 test, which is a great help for us,” said Cregan about Whiting’s final inspection. "We'll have a lot of the grand prix weekend marshals here on that weekend as well, so that will be a good test for the system, the people, car recovery, all of those things."
The circuit's inaugural event will take place on November 1, 2009.
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