Turkish Grand Prix organizers should let fans in for free rather than hold a race in front of empty seats, Australian Mark Webber said after another dismal turnout at the Istanbul Park circuit on Sunday.
While Formula One leader Jenson Button chalked up his sixth win in seven races for the Brawn team, few locals turned up to watch.
Official figures showed only 36,000 three-day tickets were sold, with prices ranging from 90 Turkish lire (US$58) for the cheapest open field category to 700 lire for the main grandstand at the 130,000 capacity circuit.
PHOTO: AFP
“There was no one here,” Red Bull’s Webber told reporters of an afternoon marked by a lack of fans and little atmosphere. “There were a lot of people that tried to come in today, but obviously it’s not that cheap and things like that but we should have let them in for free at the end.”
“It would have been nice for the show to let people in,” he said. “I’m sure there’s a lot of people that would want to come to the Turkish Grand Prix but can’t afford to because it’s very expensive.”
The race at the Istanbul Park circuit has been promoted by Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone since local organizers were fined US$5 million in 2006 for a podium controversy.
PHOTO: EPA
Ecclestone, 78, did not attend the race because of reported ill health.
The undulating anti-clockwise track cost an estimated US$250 million to build and has been popular with drivers, who rave about the sweeping turn eight, since its debut in 2005.
It hosts few events and has made heavy losses. There are also no Turkish Formula One drivers in a country far more obsessed with soccer.
The circuit faces an uncertain future, with general director Can Guclu warning in February that 2011 could be its last year on the calendar because of competition from other nations.
Previously sponsored by Turkish oil company Petrol Ofisi, this year’s race was backed by ING, who have announced their exit from Formula One at the end of the year.
Toyota motorsport president John Howett said the teams were aware of the problem.
“I think the promoter told [Renault team boss] Flavio [Briatore] they were willing to do some serious activities to actually increase the traffic, and that they weren’t encouraged to do so,” he said.
“We have to realize we are in an economic situation where entry price to the track is important to the customers,” he said. “One has to say if you look at the [TV] viewing figures it indicates the product is very strong, so you have to question whether the price of entry is too high and what we need to do to improve that.”
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