Fighting Vietnam Memories

This is the Statt Mann Baby. Time to Scatt a little bit.

The Freaks last week spent a few minutes talking about the 2020 Formula One calendar that includes Hanoi, Vietnam as the third race on the schedule.

Those of us of a certain age still can’t separate Hanoi from the divisive realities of the 1960s when the United States was at war with Vietnam. But that’s what that government wants us to do.

If you can, take a look at this entire issue with some objectivity. The Hanoi race would be the fourth street race on the F1 calendar equal to Monaco in some categories.

Hanoi is a city of more than eight million people. And it’s easy to see how the Vietnamese government would be eager to display a city open for business especially tourism.

Formula One is one of the few bridges to the world’s tourism business rated at more than $1.25 TRILLION five years ago.

Spending fifty million dollars to get five or six times that in tourism dollars is a no brainer. Even if it means opening Hanoi for a look at what we used to call The Hilton.

Peace.