A cloud over Valencia

Grands Prix are often closely linked to one individual and thus the news that Francisco Camps, the President of the Generalitat Valenciana, has been implicated in a corruption scandal needs to be taken seriously in F1 circles. Camps has been one of the major forces behind the revival of the city of Valencia, the America's Cup competition and the Grand Prix.

The accusations against Camps come from Judge Baltasar Garzon, who claims that Camps received $40,000 worth of suits from Alvaro Perez, an event promoter, in order for him to gain lucrative contracts to stage special events. Perez was arrested earlier this week. Garzon claims that his company Orange Market made at least $6m in fees for organizing events for the regional government.

Camps's Partido Popular has gone onto the attack, saying that the anti-corruption prosecutor is politically-motivated. He, however, has now handed over his investigations to other investigators. Camps says he is innocent and will take legal action against anyone making such claims.

It remains to be seen what will happen to Camps, but the removal of any high profile supporter of an F1 race is always a danger for the future. In part from Grandprix.com