Turkey's GP Preparations Ahead of Schedule

Turkey's Formula One track will be completed early and next year's Grand Prix will be under extremely tight security, according to the man who bought the glamour sport to the country.

"The construction work is two months ahead of schedule," Mumtaz Tahincioglu, head of Turkey's Motorsports Federation told Reuters in an interview. "We will finish it by the end of this year and put the final touches and the fine layer of the track by August, 2005, when the race is planned."

The 5,380-metre long track and facilities, which are costing about $60 million to construct, are located some 20 km to the east of the Bosphorus Straits that divide Istanbul - a city of 10 million that straddles Asia and Europe.

Tahincioglu said security at the event, which is expected to bring about 60,000 tourists to Turkey and earn Istanbul some $70 million in the first race week, was of "utmost importance".

A series of attacks by Islamic groups killed dozens of people in Istanbul last November and police, private security guards and "invisible soldiers" will provide security for the race area and tourists, he said.

He added Turkey would not allow tobacco advertising, a key source of income for years for Formula One races, because of its commitment to international law.

"But if someone paints his car with the colours of a cigarette company without the brand name on it, we cannot do anything about it," he said.

Turkish law also prohibits tobacco advertising on the cars.