Ｅlectric ‘love chair’ with stirrups？

不興・韓国ＧＰが世界中から嫌われるこれだけの「理由」…ドライバーたちは競うように韓国を脱出し、日本へと向かった
2013.10.12 07:00 （1/2ページ）

空っぽ観客席にラブホ住まい

　理由はお粗末な大会運営と人気のなさ。今年の入場者は昨年より約６千人減少して約１６万人で、「空っぽの観客席からなんとかやる気を起こさないといけなかった」とルイス・ハミルトン（英国）。ジェンソン・バトン（同）は「会場の雰囲気を盛り上げてくれるファンがいないレースはいつも悲しい。ファンなしにはスポーツは成り立たない」と嘆き節だ。

　さらに、ソウルから約４００キロ離れ、サーキットの立地が悪いのも大きな問題。周辺に宿泊施設がほとんどなく、多くの関係者は「ラブホテル」に宿泊しなければならないという。英紙テレグラフ（電子版）は「韓国では一般的に両親と同居している若者カップルが親密な関係を持つ場所として活用されている」と説明し、いくらか誇張されている可能性があるとことわりながら「コンドームにローションが入ったビン、鏡張りの天井にベッドの上の赤いライト…。サーキットに出かけている間に別の客に“貸し出されている”ケースもあった」と詳細をリポート。そのうえで「Ｆ１関係者の中で最も不人気なレースの最有力候補だ」と断じた。

Korean Grand Prix 2013: will Formula One desert mundane Mokpo?
Korea’s Formula One circuit attracts small crowds and is unpopular with the teams, so will Bernie Ecclestone still include it in the 2014 race calendar?
By Tom Cary, F1 correspondent, Mokpo6:52PM BST 05 Oct 2013

Lewis Hamilton remarked rather forlornly that they might as well put cardboard cutouts of fans up in the stands so that at least it felt like someone was watching.
“It’s the most relaxed weekend of the whole year,” Hamilton added, putting a more positive spin on things. “But I like it generally when we’re in the cities. I like Singapore, I like Montreal, I like being amongst people in the city. Here we don’t really see many people except at the track, or the two receptionists at my hotel.”
That hotel is the nearby Hyundai Hotel, the only decent western-style accommodation for miles and therefore colonised by drivers and team bigwigs.
The rest of F1’s travelling circus stay in Mokpo, an industrial port town nearby, which is lively enough at night but lags on the accommodation front.
Almost everyone sleeps in love hotels, which in Korea more usually act as a venue for young couples still living with their parents to consummate their relationship.
They appear to have cleaned up their act a bit over the years but there are still reports of condoms and bottles of lubricant in the rooms, mirrors on the ceiling, red lights above the bed and vending machines in the corridor. One person in the circuit’s first year, in 2010, even claimed to have an electric ‘love chair’ with stirrups. Some bring their own sheets and pillows, fearful that their rooms are being rented out while they are at the circuit.
Most of the stories are exaggerated and, in fact, there is a certain charm to the weekend. The bars and restaurants may be basic but they are quirky. The locals are friendly.　

electric ‘love chair’ with stirrups　とは何ぞや？