The , also known as '''Istanbul Otodrom''' or '''Istanbul Park''' (
2005 .
The venue of the
Turkish Grand Prix is located on the
Asia n side of
Istanbul ,
Turkey , close to the junction of Kurtkoy on the north side of TEM Motorway, linking Istanbul to
Ankara . It is adjacent to the newly constructed
Sabiha Gökçen International Airport and surrounded by pristine forest and green, cultivated fields.
The circuit runs in an
Anti-clockwise direction, with the
Autodromo Enzo E Dino Ferrari in Imola and the
Autódromo José Carlos Pace at Interlagos being the other two tracks of the 2005 Formula One season that don't follow the predominant clockwise direction of non-oval race tracks. 5,340
M long, with an average width of 15 m ranging between 12.5 and 21.5 m, the circuit covers over 2.215 million m
2. There are a total of 14 curves (six right turns and eight left), the sharpest having a
Radius of merely 15 m. With a start / finish straight over 650 m in length, the circuit runs over four different ground levels. The total race distance of a F1 GP is 309.720 km over 58 laps.
The main grandstand has a
Seating Capacity of 25,000 spectators. In addition, natural ground stands and temporary stands can provide a total capacity of over 155,000. The paddock buildings are two-level structures; the ground floor reserved for racing teams, the upper floor serving as hospitality areas, with an additional viewing capacity of 5,000 seats. At each end of the paddock, there are two 7-story
VIP towers.
The circuit and its facilities were designed by the famous certainly caught the drivers out, with many drivers spinning off throughout the weekend.
Turn 8 particularly caught the imagination. The corner is a fast, sweeping corner with four apexes, similar to a multi-apex sections of the old
Nürburgring were Tilke is racing if time permits. Many drivers lost control during or just after Turn 8 over the weekend. Spectators and drivers alike raved about Turn 8, comparing it to legendary corners such as
Eau Rouge and
130R . The circuit itself has already been compared to
Circuit De Spa-Francorchamps .
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 due to the fact that 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
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The maximum attainable speed was expected to be 320.5 km/h (199.2 mph) by
Modern F1 Cars .
The winner of the of
Renault F1 became the second, followed by Juan Pablo Montoya of McLaren-Mercedes.
Fastest lap was run by
Juan Pablo Montoya at 1:24.770 corresponding to 226.693 km/h.
The winner of the (Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha), also from Italy, and third was the
American Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda Team).
Marco Melandri from Fortuna Honda Team won with 41:54.065 the third round of the season in Istanbul once again despite his 14th starting position. The
Australia n
Casey Stoner of Team Honda LCR became second before Nicky Hayden from Repsol Honda Team.
The circuit has also hosted
FIA World Touring Car Championship ,
GP2 ,
Formula G ,
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters and the
Le Mans Series 1000 km race.
