Formula One Turkish Grand Prix - Istanbul

The Turkish Grand Prix is a Formula One motor race that debuted on August 21, 2005 as part of the 2005 Formula One season. It is held at the newly built Istanbul Park Circuit, constructed by famous German civil engineer Hermann Tilke. The circuit is only the third anti-clockwise circuit on the Formula One calendar after the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, Italy and the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, Brazil.

Tilke has stressed how the track follows the contours of the land, which dips and falls. This is in contrast to some of his other recent tracks, the topography of which did not allow such variation. It takes an influence from many of the worlds best race tracks. Corner 1 is very similar to corner one in Autódromo José Carlos Pace, Brazil and has also been compared to the "corkscrew" at Laguna Seca. There is a flat-out kink on a hill similar to Eau Rouge corner at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps; fans have jokingly referred to this as "Faux Rouge."

Turn 8 is probably the best corner on the track. It is a quadruple apex corner with a load of 5G (5 times the force of gravity) for 4 seconds. It is actually 4 corners joined together. Many drivers have found this a very tricky corner of the circuit.

Because of the nature of the circuit the 2005 Turkish Grand Prix weekend saw exciting on-track action, with many drivers spinning off throughout the weekend due to pushing too hard, particularly at Turn 8. Juan Pablo Montoya memorably lost it at Turn 8 with two laps to go, following a tangle whilst trying to lap Tiago Monteiro. This allowed Fernando Alonso to take second place behind Kimi Räikkönen, an event which had a significant bearing on their battle for the World Championship headed towards its culmination. -- source www.wikipedia.org

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Istanbul Park

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Turkey made its debut on the Formula One calendar in 2005 with an all-new purpose-built circuit in Istanbul. The spectacular 5.378 kilometre track is designed by famed German architect Hermann Tilke, the man behind Sepang, Bahrain and Shanghai, and features 14 turns - eight lefts and six rights - with the cars reaching speeds of up to 330 km/h.

An unusual feature of the venue is that the lap runs anti-clockwise, making the Turkish Grand Prix only the third race on the calendar to do so (San Marino and Brazil are the other two). It possesses a wide variety of corners, and while perhaps not as technical as, say, Shanghai, it definitely provides the drivers with real challenge, especially given the reduced downforce available from 2005.

The character of the circuit is further enhanced by plenty of gradients - the track is built on four different ground levels. There may be fewer obvious overtaking opportunities than at some other Tilke circuits - it doesn't feature the long straights followed by tight hairpins that characterise the likes of Sepang and Shanghai - but the potential for a driver under pressure to make a mistake here means no shortage of passing.

As you'd expect from a new venue, spectator facilities are impressive - organisers knew they had to rival the very high standards set by Bahrain and China in 2004. Seating capacity is around 130,000, with 25,000 of those in the main grandstand, and parking is available for 12,000 cars. Dominating the circuit's skyline are two seven-floor VIP towers at either end of the paddock.

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Gina Carano