UBS to sponsor Chinese F1 in 2011

Swiss bank UBS  signed a deal to become the title sponsor for the 2011 Formula One Chinese Grand Prix, two years after previous partner Sinopec raced out of the circuit due to mounting losses.

UBS declined to reveal the deal value.

In 2009, Sinopec ended its sponsorship for the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai and refused to continue its contract with Formula One Management Ltd, citing slumping spectator attendances over the years.

Ticket prices for this year’s race, which will be held on April 15-17, have been cut by up to 45 percent from last year’s. Ticket sales have topped half of last year’s sales volume since the cut was introduced in mid-February, said Jiang Lan, general manager of Shanghai Juss Event Management Co, the local F1 organizer.

The Chinese leg of the F1 World Championship attracted 260,000 spectators in 2004, its inaugural year, and rose by another 10,000 in 2005. But 155,000 people attended last year.

Sinopec agreed to pay US$20 million annually in 2004 when it won its first three-year title sponsorship, according to 21st Century Business Herald.