Ecclestone Prefers Istanbul for Turkish GP

Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone has chosen Istanbul over two other Turkish cities competing for rights to hold a Grand Prix in 2005, the Turkish motorsports federation said today.

Turkey has been campaigning hard to win the rights to host one of two Grands Prix slots expected to become free by 2005 and in August took Ecclestone on a tour of three candidates - Istanbul, Izmir and Antalya.

The Turkish motorsports federation TOMSFED said Ecclestone had told them that he favoured Istanbul and now wanted to push ahead with finalising the deal.

"Now we need to finalise the commercial issues and the TV rights," TOMSFED quoted Ecclestone as saying in a letter.

Rallying and other motorsports are already popular among the wealthy in Turkey, a European Union membership candidate of nearly 70 million people, but the country has no track suitable for Formula One.

TOMSFED has acquired some land on the Asian side of Istanbul, close to the city's newly-completed second airport, and said it expected a track designer to visit within a week to start drafts for a new circuit.

Ecclestone chose Istanbul over the other candidates because of its global stature and because it is more easily reached by road from other European Formula One venues.

"Not only is it a major city known throughout the world, but what swayed me was the logistics for the teams," TOMSFED quoted Ecclestone as saying.

Formula One races take place only two weeks apart and it can take three days either side of race day to set up or dismantle all the equipment associated with the races. Turkish anti-smoking lobbies oppose the plan to bring a race to the country, arguing that Formula One could force Turkey to make an exception to a ban on cigarette advertising.