This article needs additional citations for verification .(November 2020) |
![]() Official logo of Intercity Istanbul Park | |
![]() | |
Location | Tuzla, Istanbul, Turkey |
---|---|
Time zone | UTC+03:00 |
Coordinates | 40°57′6″N29°24′18″E / 40.95167°N 29.40500°E Coordinates: 40°57′6″N29°24′18″E / 40.95167°N 29.40500°E |
Capacity | 125,000 [1] |
FIA Grade | 1 (Grand Prix) 3 (Intermediate) |
Owner | Intercity (2012–present) Bernie Ecclestone (2007–2012) |
Broke ground | 23 September 2003 |
Opened | 19 August 2005 |
Architect | Hermann Tilke [2] |
Former names | Istanbul Park (2005–2012) |
Major events | Former: Formula One Turkish Grand Prix (2005–2011, 2020–2021) Grand Prix motorcycle racing Turkish motorcycle Grand Prix (2005–2007) WTCC Race of Turkey (2005–2006) Le Mans Series 1000 km Istanbul (2005–2006) World SBK (2013) FIA World Rallycross Championship World RX of Turkey (2014–2015) DTM (2005) FIA GT (2005) International GT Open (2006) World Series by Renault (2006) European Truck Racing Championship (2012) |
Grand Prix Circuit (2005–present) | |
Length | 5.338 km (3.317 miles) |
Turns | 14 |
Race lap record | 1:24.770 ( ![]() |
Intermediate Circuit | |
Length | 3.925 km (2.439 miles) |
Turns | 13 |
Website | intercitypark |
Intercity Istanbul Park (Turkish : İstanbul Park), also known as the Istanbul Racing Circuit or initially as the Istanbul Otodrom, is a motor sports race track in the Tuzla district of Istanbul, Turkey. Designed by Hermann Tilke, it opened on 19–21 August 2005. It has been called "the best race track in the world" by former Formula One Chief Executive Bernie Ecclestone, who held the managing rights of the circuit between 2007 and 2011. [4] [5] [6] The circuit has been currently managed by the Turkish company Intercity since 2012. [7]
The venue of the Turkish Grand Prix is located in the crossing of boundaries of Pendik and Tuzla districts on the Asian side of Istanbul, close to the junction of Kurtköy on the north side of the O–4 motorway, linking Istanbul to Ankara; and close to the junction of Istanbul Park on the south side of the O–7 motorway. It is near Sabiha Gökçen International Airport and is surrounded by forests and fields.
The Istanbul Park racing circuit was one of only seven circuits running anticlockwise in the 2021 Formula One season, the others being the Imola Circuit (used for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix), the Baku City Circuit (used for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix), Circuit of the Americas (used for the United States Grand Prix), the Interlagos Circuit (used for the Brazilian Grand Prix), the Jeddah Corniche Circuit (used for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix), and the Yas Marina Circuit (used for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix). This unusual anti-clockwise layout leads to increased strain on the other side of the driver's neck than they would experience at most other circuits, especially through the long high-speed left-hander at turn 8. [8]
The circuit is 5.338 km (3.317 mi) long, with an average width of 15 m (16 yd) ranging from 14 to 21.5 m (15.3 to 23.5 yd), and covers over 2.215 million square metres (547 acres). With a total of 14 corners, the sharpest with a radius of merely 15 m (16 yd), the circuit runs over four different ground levels with a start/finish straight over 650 m (710 yd) in length.
The track can hold about 125,000 spectators. The main grandstand has a seating capacity of 25,000 spectators, with natural ground stands and temporary stands allowing for around 100,000 more. The paddock buildings are two-level structures; the ground floor reserved for racing teams, the upper floor serving as hospitality areas with 5,000 seats. At each end of the paddock, there are two 7-story VIP towers.
Turn 8 (nicknamed "Diabolica" by some in reference to Monza's Curva Parabolica) particularly caught the imagination. The corner is a fast, sweeping corner with four apexes, similar to one of the multi-apex sections of the old Nürburgring. Spectators and drivers alike raved about Turn 8, comparing it to legendary corners such as Eau Rouge and 130R. The corner eventually became the basis of some of Tilke's newer track turns, such as turns 17 and 18 at the Circuit of the Americas, turn 3 at the Sochi Autodrom, and Buddh International Circuit's turns 10 to 11. The high loads exerted through this corner contribute to the circuit's reputation for rapid tyre wear. [9]
Another notable corner is Turn 1, a sharp downhill left-hander immediately after the front straight. This corner has been nicknamed by some as the "Turkish Corkscrew" in reference to the famous Corkscrew at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Both the 2006 F1 and MotoGP races at the circuit featured multiple incidents at this corner. A third noteworthy area is the uphill kink in the middle of the back straight; due to its similarity to Eau Rouge, it has been jokingly referred to as "Faux Rouge".
The circuit is not, however, without its critics. After qualifying, Jenson Button claimed that the track was getting bumpier as the weekend went on, particularly at Turn 8, which was what caused so many drivers to spin off. This harks back to another circuit designed by Hermann Tilke, Shanghai International Circuit, which is said to be sinking in places because it was built on the site of a former swamp. Jarno Trulli was notable for his lukewarm feeling towards the circuit, saying that he felt the circuit was easy to learn, and that good performance was down more to the car than the driver. [10]
The first Grand Prix of Turkey took place in 2005. [11] Due to financial disagreement, the last Turkish Grand Prix took place in 2011, despite earlier reports that the event would take place until at least 2021. [4] The top speed measured of an F1 car by the speed trap was 329.5 km/h (204.7 mph) in 2005. F1 cars equipped with the smaller 2.4-litre V8 engines (instead of the 3.0-litre V10s of previous years) reached 320 km/h (200 mph) in 2006. Felipe Massa has an affinity with this circuit, with the Brazilian winning three of the nine Grands Prix held at Istanbul Park with Lewis Hamilton winning two and Sebastian Vettel, Jenson Button, Kimi Räikkönen and Valtteri Bottas having won one race each.
Istanbul Park returned for the 2020 Formula One World Championship, after a nine-year absence. [12]
Istanbul Park was due to replace the cancelled Canadian Grand Prix for the 2021 Formula One World Championship. [13] Then it was postponed indefinitely due to Covid-19 travel restrictions imposed on the country by the UK government and was replaced by the Styrian Grand Prix. [14] It was later re-added to the 2021 calendar in place of the cancelled Singapore Grand Prix.
In 2006, the winner of the GP2 race was Nelson Piquet Jr., however the real battle was with Lewis Hamilton who, at the beginning of the race, spun off and dropped right down the field from 2nd to 16th. [15] However he raced his way back through the pack with some spectacular overtaking moves to finish in second.
Fifteen racers completed the race in 2009 while eleven drivers were not classified. The winner was Russian Vitaly Petrov of Barwa Addax, who moved up to second place in the championship table with 29 points ahead of Jérôme d'Ambrosio having 18 points. Petrov's teammate Romain Grosjean, who retired from the race, was leading the championship with 31 points. The Italians Luca Filippi of Super Nova Racing and Davide Valsecchi of Durango finished second and third in the race.
MotoGP raced at Istanbul Park for three years between 2005 and 2007. Marco Melandri won the races in 2005 and 2006 with the 2007 race being won by Casey Stoner. After the venue was taken over by now ex-Formula One chief executive Bernie Ecclestone in 2007, the venue was dropped from the 2008 calendar.
The first leg of the 2012 FIA European Truck Racing Championship was held on 13 May 2012 at Istanbul Park. [16] The Superbike World Championship raced at the track in 2013. The FIA World Rallycross Championship has organized the World RX of Turkey at Istanbul Park in 2014 and 2015, using an area to the outside of turns 12, 13, 14.
The official lap record for the current circuit layout is 1:24.770, set by Juan Pablo Montoya during the 2005 Turkish Grand Prix. While the unofficial all-time track record is 1:22.868, set by Lewis Hamilton in the qualifying of the 2021 Turkish Grand Prix. [17] As of November 2014, the fastest official race lap records at the Istanbul Park are listed as:
Circuit Zandvoort, known for sponsorship reasons as CM.com Circuit Zandvoort, and previously known as Circuit Park Zandvoort until 2017, is a 4.259 km (2.646 mi) motorsport race track located in the dunes north of Zandvoort, the Netherlands, near the North Sea coast line. It returned to the Formula One calendar in 2021 as the location of the revived Dutch Grand Prix.
The Chinese Grand Prix is a round of the Formula One World Championship and was contracted to return in 2023 but will now not do so until 2024 at the earliest. It is currently held at the Shanghai International Circuit, Jiading, Shanghai, designed by Hermann Tilke. When completed in 2004, it was the most expensive Formula One circuit facility, costing US$240 million. Abu Dhabi became the most expensive at US$6 billion when it opened in 2009. The track is 5.451 km long and features one of the trickiest corner combinations on the Formula One calendar, comparable to that of Istanbul Park's turn 8, also designed by Tilke. Turn 1 and 2 are a very demanding 270-degree, right-handed corner combination that requires considerable speed, in addition to a significant radius increase as the corner progresses.
Donington Park is a motorsport circuit located near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England. The circuit business is now owned by Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision organisation, and the surrounding Donington Park Estate, still owned by the Wheatcroft family, is currently under lease by MotorSport Vision until 2038. It has a capacity of 120,000, and is also the venue of the Download Festival.
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is a 4.657 km (2.894 mi) motorsport race track in Montmeló, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. With long straights and a variety of corners, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is seen as an all-rounder circuit. The track has stands with a capacity of 140,700. The circuit has FIA Grade 1 license.
The Suzuka International Racing Course, more famously known as the Suzuka Circuit, is a 5.807 km (3.608 mi) long motorsport race track located in Ino, Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, Japan and operated by Honda Mobilityland, a subsidiary of Honda Motor Co, Ltd. It has a capacity of 155,000.
The Bahrain International Circuit is a 5.412 km (3.363 mi) motorsport venue opened in 2004 and used for drag racing, GP2 Series, and the annual Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix. The 2004 Grand Prix was the first held in the Middle East. Beginning in 2006, Australian V8 Supercars raced at the BIC, with the event known as the Desert 400. However, the V8 Supercars did not return for the 2011 V8 Supercar season. 24 Hour endurance races are also hosted at BIC. The circuit has a FIA Grade 1 license. The circuit also has multiple layouts.
The Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, better known as Imola, is a 4.909 km (3.050 mi) motor racing circuit in the town of Imola, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, 40 km (25 mi) east of Bologna. It is one of the few major international circuits to run in an anti-clockwise direction. The circuit is named after Ferrari's late founder, Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), and his son, Alfredo "Dino" Ferrari (1932–1956). Before Enzo's death, it was called Autodromo Dino Ferrari. The circuit has an FIA Grade One licence.
Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours is a 4.411 km (2.741 mi) motor racing circuit located in central France, near the towns of Magny-Cours and Nevers, some 250 km (160 mi) from Paris and 240 km (150 mi) from Lyon.
The Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg is a motor racing circuit situated in the Rhine valley near the town of Hockenheim in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located on the Bertha Benz Memorial Route. Amongst other motor racing events, it has hosted the German Grand Prix, most recently in 2019. The circuit has very little differences in elevation. The circuit has an FIA Grade 1 license.
The Red Bull Ring is a motorsport race track in Spielberg, Styria, Austria. The race circuit was founded as Österreichring and hosted the Austrian Grand Prix for 18 consecutive years, from 1970 to 1987. It was later shortened, rebuilt and renamed the A1-Ring, and it hosted the Austrian Grand Prix again from 1997 to 2003.
The Turkish Grand Prix is a Formula One motor race held at Istanbul Park, designed by Hermann Tilke. The race was part of the Formula One World Championship between 2005 and 2011, and 2020 to 2021, the latter two being due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Felipe Massa and Ferrari are the most successful driver and constructor respectively, having won the race three times each.
The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is a 4.304 km (2.674 mi) motorsport race track in Mexico City, Mexico, named after the racing drivers Ricardo (1942–1962) and Pedro Rodríguez (1940–1971). The circuit got its name shortly after it opened when Ricardo Rodríguez died in practice for the non-Championship 1962 Mexican Grand Prix. Ricardo's brother Pedro was also killed behind the wheel nine years later. Since 2015, the track has once again hosted the Formula One Mexican Grand Prix, an event it previously hosted in two separate periods on a different layout, the last occasion of which was in 1992.
The Turkish Motorcycle Grand Prix was a motorcycling event that was part of the World Motorcycle Racing season.
The Korea International Circuit is a 5.615 km (3.489 mi) motorsport circuit located in Yeongam, South Jeolla Province, South Korea, 400 km (250 mi) south of Seoul and near the port city of Mokpo. It was the venue for the Korean Grand Prix from 2010 to 2013 after a $264 million deal between Bernie Ecclestone and the Korean F1 promoter Korea Auto Valley Operation.
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is a Formula One motor racing event. It was announced in early 2007 at the Abu Dhabi F1 Festival in the United Arab Emirates. The first race took place on 1 November 2009, held at the Hermann Tilke-designed Yas Marina Circuit.
The Indian Grand Prix was a Formula One race in the calendar of the FIA Formula One World Championship, which was held at the Buddh International Circuit in Sector 25 along Yamuna Expressway in Gautam Buddh Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh State from 2011 until 2013.
The Buddh International Circuit is an Indian motor racing circuit situated in National Capital Region at Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The track shares its name with Gautama Buddha, as does the district the track is located in.
Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is a Grade 1 FIA-specification 3.426-mile (5.514 km) motor racing track and facilities located within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Austin, Texas, in the United States. The facility is home to the Formula One United States Grand Prix, NASCAR's Texas Grand Prix, and the Motorcycle Grand Prix of the Americas, a round in MotoGP. It previously hosted the Australian V8 Supercars, the Americas Rallycross Championship, the American Le Mans Series, the Rolex Sports Car Series, the FIA World Endurance Championship, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the IndyCar Classic.
The Sochi Autodrom, previously known as the Sochi International Street Circuit and the Sochi Olympic Park Circuit, is a 5.848 km (3.634 mi) permanent race track in the settlement of Sirius next to the Black Sea resort town of Sochi in Krasnodar Krai, Russia.
The Baku City Circuit is a motor racing street circuit located in Baku, Azerbaijan constructed near Baku Boulevard. A lap of the circuit is 6.003 km (3.730 mi), making it the third-longest circuit on the Formula One calendar. The inaugural Formula One race at the circuit was the 2016 European Grand Prix and its support events. A year later, in 2017, the circuit held the inaugural Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The event is organised by Baku City Circuit Operation Company.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)