Seven-year Turkish GP F1 deal
The Turkish Chamber of Commerce and TOMSFED, the ASN in Istanbul, signed a seven-year contract on Friday in London with FOM to hold an F1 Turkish GP from 2005 through 2011. The deal, reported to be worth US$13.5m annually, was finalised at the end of a week in which government health officials in Ankara had asserted that tobacco sponsorships would not be permitted at the event [Aug 29]
Mehmet Yildirim, the president of the nation's Chamber of Commerce, which is sponsoring the project, said that ground would be broken this month on the projected $60m venue on the eastern outskirts of Istanbul.
It is understood that, under the terms of the contract, the government would have to pay a $25m penalty to FOM if the track is not completed on schedule. TOMSFED (Türkiye Otomobil ve Motorsporlari Federasyonu) president Mumtaz Tahincioglu said that the track would be completed by March 31, 2005, despite delays that have been caused by an environmental impact study.
Tahincioglu added that the event is expected to attract up to $70m in tourism revenue each year.
This Week with Will Buxton: Episode 1
Live - Goodwood FoS 2021: Saturday
Live - Goodwood FoS 2021: Friday
Bulletin - May 13 15:00 GMT
The one-time Schumacher rival rebooting his career Down Under
Joey Mawson made waves in the middle of the last decade, beating future Haas Formula 1 driver Mick Schumacher - among other highly-rated talents - to the 2016 German F4 title. A run in F1's feeder GP3 category only caused his career to stall, but now back in Australia Mawson's S5000 title success has set that to rights
The lesson football’s would-be wreckers could learn from racing
OPINION: The greed-driven push for a European Super League that threatened to tear football apart is collapsing at the seams. Motor racing's equivalent, the football-themed Superleague Formula series of 2008-11, was everything that the proposed ESL never could be
The F1 and Indy 'nearly man' that found contentment in Japan
Having had the door to F1 slammed in his face and come within three laps of winning the Indianapolis 500, the collapse of a Peugeot LMP1 shot meant Japan was Bertrand Baguette's last chance of a career. But it's one which he has grasped with both hands
The female all-rounder who arrived "too early"
From Formula 3 to truck racing, Dakar and EuroNASCAR via a winning stint in the DTM, there's not much Ellen Lohr hasn't seen in a stellar racing career that highlights the merit in being a generalist. But she believes her career came too early...
How Radical's latest machines fare on track
The lightweight sportscar manufacturer has not rewritten the rulebook with its latest machines, but the new SR3 XX and SR10 still provide a step forward on its previous successful models
The real-life racing rogues stranger than fiction
The forthcoming Netflix film linking the world of underworld crime and motorsport plays on a theme that isn't exactly new. Over the years, several shady figures have attempted to make it in racing before their dubious dealings caught up with them
How a GP is thriving in a COVID-free territory
The New Zealand Grand Prix's mix of rising talent and big-name stars thrilled the crowds (yes, remember crowds?) assembled for the Toyota Racing Series meeting at Hampton Downs last weekend and left distant observers craving a repeat
How a much-changed Macau GP kept the party going
OPINION: The 67th edition of the Macau Grand Prix might have been a largely muted affair to the outside world without its international influx and star line-ups, another victim to the COVID-19 pandemic, but organisers deserve huge credit for keeping the party going
