Ecclestone guarantees Turkish GP future

Ecclestone sparked speculation about his future plans when he appeared in Turkey on Thursday in the build-up to this weekend's MotoGP event.

But his intentions were finally made clear at a press conference on Friday morning when he announced he had taken control of the venue, in a deal that is reported to be worth at least 130 million Euros.

"I did this investment by myself," Ecclestone was quoted as saying by Gazzetta dello Sport. "I'm glad to have many people around supporting me.

"I can guarantee F1 will race in Istanbul until 2021."

The Hermann Tilke-designed track joined the F1 calendar in 2005, and received near-universal praise from drivers and teams for its challenging layout, plethora of overtaking opportunities, and state-of-the-art facilities.

Today's announcement has led to speculation that MotoGP would lose its Turkish round, with Dorna chairman Carmelo Ezpeleta telling autosport.com this morning that the race's future was not guaranteed after this season.