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Turkey: Istanbul Track Guide
By Phil Huff May 7 2008
Turkey made its Formula One debut in 2005 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 second race on the calendar to do so, Brazil being the other venue, although this has no bearing on car set up. It possesses a wide variety of turns - many replicating legendary corners from historic circuits around the world, including the fearsome and infamous turn eight

The cars and drivers pull up to 5G for seven seconds through this triple-apex left-hander, making it one of the most physical corners in the world for the drivers. The minimum speed through here is 250kph (155mph), but that's not the reason why it's a key corner from a technical point of view. A mid-corner bump, when the car is fully loaded, forces the engineers not to set the ride height too low and that punishes the car's handling through other corners.

The character of the circuit is further enhanced by plenty of gradient changes - the most extreme of any current F1 track.

A pre-requisite for a competitive lap time at Istanbul Park is good car balance because there are a number of 180-degree corners that reward good handling. Then there's the slow left-right-left sequence at the end of the lap that leads the cars back onto the pit straight. The braking point into this section sees the cars slow from 300kph (186mph) down to 80kph (50mph), which makes it the best overtaking point on the lap.

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 Honda Racing F1 team struggling a little, with Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button qualifying the reluctant RA107 in 14th and 15th place respectively. A difficult race saw Button improve to 13th, a lap down on winner Felipe Massa, while Barrichello dropped back to 17th. The previous year saw Button finish just 12 seconds behind the race winner, once again Felipe Massa.

 

FIA Guide Turkey 2007

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