"Turkey ready for F-1
Formula One leader Fernando Alonso drove his Renault around Istanbul, Turkey's hippodrome Sunday, giving residents a taste of things to come.
Turkey will play host to its first Formula One race Aug. 21 in Istanbul.
Alonso, who leads after five races this season, drove for seven laps around an arena that was home to chariot races during the Byzantine era. Some 20,000 spectators gathered in Istanbul's Sultanahmet district to watch Alonso, a parade of new Renault cars and old racing cars.
''We are close to the people, and we can see their emotions,'' Alonso said."
Herald.com | 05/17/2005 | A mischief-maker
