Q & A with Bernie Ecclestone

Autosport.com heard from Ecclestone during the official announcement to find out why he had got involved in Turkey. Here are some of the highlights of the press call.

Q: Can you give us some details of the contract, and whether anyone else would be able to promote the F1 event?

Bernie Ecclestone: From what I can remember the contract is 80 pages long, so unless you have got an awful lot of time in order to sit here it is a bit difficult to go through the details. But as far as the contract is concerned, we are taking over the company here and taking over the circuit. If somebody else wants to take over the (promoters') contract they are more than welcome to. But from that point of view it is not a profitable venture.

The reasons we are involved is very simple. This is the best venue in the world without any doubt. I am very proud of what has been built here in Turkey and it opens the eyes worldwide to what can happen in Turkey. From where we started before F1 came here, people had a bit of a clouded vision of Turkey. What has been spent has been very small, but what comes out of it (is big).

We have 300 million people (watching) per race. If you think what it would cost to bring the Olympic Games here, which in any case would be once every four years and would only be once in a lifetime. Compared to what that costs this is very, very cheap. The FSO (Turkish organisers) have done a super deal for us.

Q: The track has obviously made some losses in recent years. Is there any money outstanding that still needs to be paid?

BE: I was told very early in my life that a gentleman never talks about last night and money! We are being selfish. This is the best circuit in the world. It is good for us to be in this part of the world because sooner or later all of the problems we have at the moment are going to go away and Turkey is going to be a very, very important part of the world. That is why we want to be here. They don't owe us any money because if they did I wouldn't be here alone, I would have some of my Italian friends with me.

Q: In the last 10-15 years there has been a loss of interest in motor racing in Turkey. Are there any plans to increase the interest?

BE: You shouldn't worry too much about that. This is something that is happening worldwide. The problem at the moment is that there are categories that are so strong they attract a lot of people and people don't bother to go to what we call the grass roots of the sport. It is you guys (the media) who should really push and push and push to encourage all the other categories.

They are there, but with so much sport and so much entertainment today people are so selective about what they watch. It is the same with football. You see very few at some of the lesser football matches and all of the big games get all the big crowds. I don't know if we can blame the press or the television.

Q: What about the future of the MotoGP race in Istanbul?

BE: I think it depends an awful lot on the position of (MotoGP organisers) Dorna. They are the people who decide what they want to do. Their contract runs out after this event, so we are not sure what they want to do or don't want to do. I am a big, big motorcycle supporter and I think motorcycle racing is super. Whatever we can do to help we will do.

Q: After the problems at last year's awards ceremony at the Turkish Grand Prix, are you worried about any sensitive issues like this in the future?

BE: Me personally, I am quite sure we are going to sort out the correct people, whoever that might be.

Q: Is it likely that the race will be more affordable for fans in the future?

BE: Will it be cheaper for the public? We have to see how it goes, the more people we get in, the more it will be possible to reduce the costs.