The Turkish GP is on this weekend in the Istanbul “Otodrom”, which as the old song went, “You can’t go back to Constantinople, ‘coz it’s Istanbul, not Constantinople.”
The circuit is about 80 km east of Istanbul, and is 5.3 km long and the theoretical top speed should be around 320 kph. The race is over 58 laps and expect lap times down around 1 minute 24. Racing is anti-clockwise, and for much more than that you will have to watch the TV as I do. However, don’t look for spectators, they are as thin on the ground as in Shanghai, where they made huge sections of the vacant grandstands into advertising hoardings.
Istanbul Otodrom
The GP will be at 7 p.m. Thai time, but check your local feed to confirm this. (Qualifying, by the way is at 6 p.m. on the Saturday.) I will be watching as usual from my perch at Jameson’s Irish Pub on Soi AR (next to Nova Park). Join me for a meal and a natter first. They might even have “turkey” on in the toast section (or perhaps large chickens)!
