Miami GP has no beach and no water but plenty of buzz

MIAMI: Depending on who you listen to, Sunday's Miami Grand Prix will either be a Formula One race squeezed into an NFL stadium car park or the much anticipated, inaugural event at the brand-new Miami International Autodrome.

Both descriptions are true and rarely has the American phrase "Fake it until you make it" been as appropriate as for F1's debut in South Florida.

The "campus", on the grounds of the Miami Dolphins' Hard Rock Stadium, hosts a "Beach Club" where there is no beach and, most noticeably of all, a Marina without water.

The "yacht club" does boast real yachts, but the impressive vessels sit on concrete blocks above a special vinyl surface designed to look like gently rolling waves for television cameras.

Yet, like pretty much everything created for the race, it somehow seems to work.

The decision to build the track up to an hour's drive away from South Beach or downtown Miami came after organisers were unable to find a way to set up F1 in the heart of the city but they have pulled out the stops to incorporate the "look and feel" of the tourist destination.

The venue doesn't feel like a car park at all, packed with 137 tents, 53 hospitality venues, 10 grandstands and, of course, the racetrack itself.

It looks and feels like an F1 race track and should be bustling with noise and atmosphere throughout the weekend.

It won't drive like a "car park" race either. Unlike past efforts in parking lots, such as in Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, the Miami track is a properly constructed, hi-tech, F1 surface.

But with DJ's providing the soundtrack when the engines are switched off, top local chefs dishing up the food and celebrities to be spotted, organisers have clearly set out to create an event venue for the corporate set as