Turkey bid for Grand Prix

[Stephen Green]

Turkey want to build an F1 track near Istanbull within three years and are currently trying to raise the $60 million needed for the project.

Turkey say they are in discussions with the FIA who would want a $10 million guarantee before the project can go ahead.

With Turkey, Cairo, Dubai, Beirut all vying for an F1 race, who says the calendar can't be increased to 20 races?

[Liz]

These are all dangerous places. Are they going to give some kind of undertaking to keep us from being blown up, captured by rebels and held for ransom, or not allowed in at all (from what I hear this happens in Dubai)?

I think I will stay in Europe, thanks.

[f1manoz]

Next we're going to hear about the Israeli GP in Jerusalem?

Or the Afghan GP in Kabul?

Or even the Colombian GP in Bogota?

Countries such as Turkey and Lebanon will never host a GP for the simple fact that these places are seen as 'dangerous' places for Westerners.

Sure, the Middle East would be a good diplomatic relations exercise by the FIA, but there are too many cons to host a race.

[LucaBadoer]

If there was some sort of bomb alert in one of the grandstands, would the race be cancelled?? - Like at the Martell Grand National a few years ago...

[Stephen Green]

Security is an issue I agree, but remember that South Africa held a Grand Prix for many years, and still holds a current F1 track licence at Kyalami, and Johannesburg is the murder capitol of the world at the moment!

[Epsilon]

The only reason I can see the FIA giving a race is to try to initiate chance in social policy, which won't work. That's the exect reason the IOC gave Beijing the Olympics, which similarily won't work. The FIA would be crazy to put a race in Colombia or any of those other countries mentioned on this thread.

[JeremySmith]

I could not agree more with all of you..Many of these countries have a political system which is just way too unstable to host a grand prix..Russia I think is still a good idea..Can you imagine a grand prix in Bogota for heavens sake! madness to say the least..Bernie and the FIA should concentrate their efforts on another race in the USA..The largest untapped market in the world 280 Million people..

regards.....Jeremy

[Liz]

I agree - Watkins Glen would be my first choice. Or they could build one at the Presidio in San Francisco - nobody's using that land and it's a prime location. More to do there than in Indianapolis for example.

I have heard some questions about whether Malaysia is a safe place to attend a GP. Has anyone any ideas on that? I don't know anything about the area personally.

[JeremySmith]

I think most places would be safe, you fly in stay in a good hotel go to the track over a three day period I think there would not be a problem..I have( sadly) never attended an F1 event, surley there is good security at these events? Liz you can help me here..How many F1 races have you been too BTW?

regards.....Jeremy

[AndyF]

In my opinion there are too many proposed tracks, most of which will never be to a standard to host F1. However, a few years ago a GP in Malaysia could never have gone ahead, but times change....

[Alan Jones]

Turkey? God help us. Bernie will leave no stone unturned in his quest for the dollar will he.

[Tristan]

You lot have never been to Turkey have you (Liz: Istanbul is in Europe, for a start!!)

Turkey is a far more safe place to hold a GP than, say, the UK (RIRA, people??). Kurdistan is the other side of the country from Istanbul and there is hardly EVER any viloence in Istanbul (eg bombs and the like. The last bomb of ANY KIND in Istanbul was 4 (??? perhaps 3??) years ago) As a contrast, there was an RIRA bomb in London FIVE DAYS AGO!! Does that make London "dangerous"?? Err.... no. Turkey is a PERFECTLY safe place for a GP.

Not that I would want one there, of course!! You KNOW my views on "tobacco circuits"!! I GUARENTEE the circuit would be c'rap, the admin would be c'rap, THE WHOLE THING WOULD BE C'RAP!!! At this rate we'll be having 30 races a year!Stuff the new circuits, lets just have a rotational European GP and leave the rest of the calender ALONE!! PLEASE??

[Bononi]

I've heard Istanbul is a nice place !!!!

Erh.. the girls at least !


Kidding, the most closer I got to Turkey was watching that movie... Midnight Express... (Istanbul blues, a nice song !)

[Tristan]

My point is that it would only take a PHONE CALL from ETA at Barca or the RIRA at Silverstone to cancell t a GP. I mean, look at Aintree. I'm surprised that there HASN'T been a bomb threat at a British GP yet! (or am I mistaken??) There has been at basically every other major spoting event...

To call an Turkish GP "dangerous" is a bit of a crass statement to make.

[Bononi]

Tristan, man

Don't give any ideas...

[Bononi]

I'm mad now...


Can we think about having any Irish GP or a Scottish GP...????


Just a thought... and I'm going to bed...

[Tristan]

Weren't they thinking of building a "world class race venue" in Scotland??

[downforce]

"To call an Turkish GP "dangerous" is a bit of a crass statement to make. "

Yeah Tristan.

"You lot have never been to Turkey have you (Liz: Istanbul is in Europe, for a start!!) " hillarious!!

Damn!to think that Sepang is the best circuit on the GrandPrix calendar, and you people suspect its security???

"FIA should concentrate their efforts on another race in the USA..The largest untapped market in the world 280 Million people.."

Jeremy, try India with 900 million people and Sabir Bhatia, if u know who that is. ...we're building an F1 circuit in Calcutta..seeya soon.

[Jari]

It wasn't too long ago that Barcelona actually was under bombthreat, but they drove anyway and nothing happened. Sao Paolo is every bit as dangerous as any of you proposed venues except that Brasil has no troubles with human rights issues at the moment. This is why China, Colombia (which is in civil war) and Beirut is a bit off at the moment. Turkey too has problems with the "kurds" and a lot of human rights cases. I think it has to be atleast politically correct if a nation would be to host a GP and Moscow with the new Nogatino circuit is exactly in line as the cold war has ended a long time ago.
Let's not be blind! The thing we really really miss is a Scandinavian or Finnish Grand Prix. I wouldn't mind having a GP right here in Stockholm. Just south of Stockholm there is an old airfield that hosts dragracingevents and could easily be exploited to host a GP.
So, who's got Bernies cellphonenumber?

[Bononi]

No Scottish GP, then ?


Okay, I propose a Jamaican GP, YES !!!!

We can call it Reggae GP !

[Dino IV]

It's not Bernie's thing.

It's Max.

Remember his term ends by the end of the year and he got elected back in '91 and re-elected in '96 and probably again at the coming FIA-election because of promising the 90% of non-European NSA-officials he would appoint more GP's outside Europe, in the rest of the world that is.

So imagine the president of the Turkish NSA (and the ones in Russia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia (the '96 shift, Sepang got it), Libanon, Dubai, Egypt etc) contacting the FIA what the chances are for a Turkish GP. They won't deny him anything this close to the election, promise him they'll do their utmost, grant him already his free VIP-entrance pass to all 2002 GP's, trips and parties included, and have his vote once again in the pocket. Same goes for the rest of the non-European hotshoes - as far as the president of, say, the Madagascar NSA can be taken serious in F1 questionaires, but hey, that's the system - and Max gets his re-election.

I love this game ...