Turkish motorcycle Grand Prix

The Turkish motorcycle Grand Prix was a motorcycling event that was part of the World Motorcycle Racing season.

Turkish Grand Prix
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
VenueIstanbul Park (2005–2007)
First race2005
Last race2007
Most wins (rider)Marco Melandri, Casey Stoner (2)
Most wins (manufacturer)Honda (5)

The races were held in Istanbul Park in Istanbul, İzmit Körfez Circuit[1] in Kocaeli Province and Pınarbaşı Racing Circuit[2] in İzmir.

History

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The inaugural race was held in 2005 after the Rio de Janeiro Grand Prix was scrapped from the calendar.[3][4][5] However, after only three years, the race was taken off the calendar due to financial troubles. The Istanbul Park circuit had problems raising the money to stage a MotoGP round every year, and the local authorities refused to help with the funding of the race, despite the boost it gave to the local economy.[6][7] After the venue was taken over by now ex-Formula One chief executive Bernie Ecclestone and DORNA chairman Carmelo Ezpeleta said that no decision was taken about including the Turkish GP into the 2008 calendar, the race was dropped and replaced by the Portuguese Grand Prix, who was moved to the now empty Turkey slot after the Indianapolis Grand Prix was confirmed.[8][9]

Official names and sponsors

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  • 2005–2007: Grand Prix of Turkey (no official sponsor)

Spectator attendance

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2006: 38.123[10]

Winners of the Turkish Motorcycle Grand Prix

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Multiple winners (riders)

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# Wins Rider Wins
Category Years won
2   Marco Melandri MotoGP 2005, 2006
  Casey Stoner MotoGP 2007
250cc 2005

Multiple winners (manufacturers)

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# Wins Manufacturer Wins
Category Years won
5   Honda MotoGP 2005, 2006
250cc 2006, 2007
125cc 2005
3   Aprilia 250cc 2005
125cc 2006, 2007

By year

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Year Track 125cc 250cc MotoGP Report
Rider Manufacturer Rider Manufacturer Rider Manufacturer
2007 Istanbul Park   Simone Corsi Aprilia   Andrea Dovizioso Honda   Casey Stoner Ducati Report
2006   Héctor Faubel Aprilia   Hiroshi Aoyama Honda   Marco Melandri Honda Report
2005   Mike di Meglio Honda   Casey Stoner Aprilia   Marco Melandri Honda Report

References

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  1. ^ "Körfez'de, Motosiklet Pist Şampiyonası yarışları". Hürriyet (in Turkish). 2006-10-15. Retrieved 2013-09-21.
  2. ^ "İzmir'de motosiklet yarışı heyecanı". Hürriyet (in Turkish). 2008-09-17. Retrieved 2013-05-16.
  3. ^ Sports, Dorna. "Turkish Grand Prix confirmed - MotoGP™". www.motogp.com.
  4. ^ "Rio GP Canceled, Event In Turkey Added To 2005 MotoGP Schedule". www.roadracingworld.com. 18 February 2005.
  5. ^ "CNN.com - Rio race axed from MotoGP calendar - Feb 18, 2005". edition.cnn.com.
  6. ^ Lostia, Michele (21 July 2007). "Turkey dropped from 2008 calendar - MotoGP - Autosport".
  7. ^ "Provisional 2008 MotoGP Calendar Announced - Istanbul Gone - MotoMatters.com - Kropotkin Thinks". motomatters.com.
  8. ^ "Turkey GP future in the air".
  9. ^ Lostia, Michele (21 July 2007). "MotoGP news: Turkey dropped from 2008 calendar". AUTOSPORT.com.
  10. ^ "2006 #TurkishGP | Vintage MotoGP". YouTube. 2020-03-25. Archived from the original on 2021-12-17. Retrieved 2020-03-29.

40°57′06″N 29°24′18″E / 40.95167°N 29.40500°E / 40.95167; 29.40500