28/08/2006
NEWS STORY
As the F1 'circus' was packing up in the Istanbul paddock last night, terrorists were at work just a few miles down the road, with six Turkish nationals injured in an explosion in the western suburbs of the city.
Meanwhile, at the popular coastal resort of Marmaris, at least twenty tourists were injured in a series of up to three explosions, the worst being on a mini-bus.
With a long history of terrorism, involving both Kurdish extremists and al-Qaeda, which famously killed 32 people in an attack on the British Consulate in 2003, security at this year's Turkish Grand Prix, as in 2005, was tight. It needs to be.
Speaking to Reuters, Bulent Ozerdim, manager of sales and marketing for the Motor Sports and Organisation Corp, which manages the Istanbul Park circuit, admitted that the country needs the Grand Prix, with tourist figures (thus far) in 2006 down on 2005 by 6.4 percent, as a result of bird flu, the 'problems' in Iraq, Iran and Lebanon and violent protests regarding cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammad.
"One of the reasons this event is made is that it will promote Istanbul and Turkey as a brand, as a destination," said Ozerdim. "When you factor in GSM roaming fees, transportation, the spending of foreign visitors in these four days is about $100 million."
In a clear attempt to fill the grandstands, organizers this year pitched the event not only at race fans, but sun-seeking tourists from countries not normally associated with F1, including Bulgaria, Russia, Israel and Greece, clearly aware that following the initial curiosity in 2005, there would be a drop in sales this year.
"There is usually a 20 percent drop from year one to year two," said Ozerdim. "The second year is always the worst."
In pre-race press releases organizers talked of a 'sell-out', however, during the race it was clear that many of the grandstands away from the main straight contained few spectators, and with an "average ticket", according to Reuters, costing around £106, it's unlikely the locals were snapping them up.