Turkey: Istanbul Track Facts

By Phil Huff
August 23 2006

Turkey made its Formula One debut last year at an all-new purpose-built circuit just outside Istanbul. The track was designed by Herman Tilke, the man behind the new circuits in Malaysia, Bahrain and China, featuring 14 turns with the cars reaching speeds of up to 320kph along the two straights.

The site of the Istanbul Otodrom is located on the Asian side of Istanbul, 6km from the junction of Kurtkoy on the north side of TEM Motorway, linking Istanbul to Ankara. Close to the newly constructed Sabiha Gokcen Istanbul Airport, the site is located within a green belt surrounded by forest and cultivated green fields.

An unusual feature is that the lap will run anti-clockwise, making the Turkish Grand Prix only the third race on the calendar to do so, San Marino and Brazil being the other two venues. It possesses a wide variety of turns - many replicating legendary corners from historic circuits around the world. The character of the circuit is further enhanced by plenty of gradient changes - the most extreme of any current F1 track.

As the F1 fraternity have come to expect from brand new venues, the facilities are equally as impressive. The main Grandstand is situated in an area covering 12,700m² and has a seating capacity of 30,000 spectators. In addition, the temporary stands and natural ground stands will provide a total capacity of over 155,000 spectators.

Dominating the circuit's skyline are two seven-floor towers built at either end of the paddock for VIPs and the media.

Last year's event saw the BAR Honda team facing a tough challenge. Jenson Button qualified a disappointing 14th, while Takuma Sato failed to set a time and started at the back. Through some hard racing and fine strategy calls, Button rose to fifth by the end of the event, with Sato in ninth. A question of what could have been...