Ecclestone interested in the Istanbul Park circuit?
According to the Turkish press, Bernie Ecclestone is reportedly interested in a ten-year lease of the Istanbul Park circuit, which hosted the Turkish Grand Prix of Formula 1 until last year.
The Istanbul Park circuit was designed by the famous F1 circuit architect, the German Hermann Tilke. The complex was inaugurated on August 21, 2005, during the first Turkish Grand Prix in the history of the world championship. The Turkish track subsequently hosted six more Grand Prix before its contract was not renewed in 2011 due to financial disagreements with Bernie Ecclestone. The circuit was appreciated by drivers, particularly turn 8, a quadruple left-hander that posed a challenge for them.
Since the announcement that Turkey would not be on the Formula 1 calendar, the circuit has been used very little, and the officials have decided to launch a call for tenders to rent it out for a period of 10 years.
According to the Turkish publication Hürriyet, several Turkish companies, including a fair trade company, a car rental service, the Istanbul Golf Club, and a construction company, have shown interest and obtained approval to participate in this tender.
But they are not the only ones in the running. Indeed, Bernie Ecclestone, the F1 supremo, is also reportedly attracted to this ten-year lease of the Istanbul Park circuit, according to Hürriyet.
The tender is expected to take place in just under a week, on Wednesday, October 10, and the estimated value of the 10-year lease of the route would be around 13 million euros, according to the Turkish daily.
