Bulgaria Suspends Plans for F1 Track

F1 field at Singapore

Bulgaria has just kissed its chances of hosting a Formula One race good bye after the Bulgarian Motorcycling Federation today announced it has scrapped the plans to build an F1 track. Actually, the official term is “suspended”, as the BMF confirmed that it could only provide the “land of construction” for the aforementioned track.

The economic crisis seems to have therefore made another victim in Formula One, as championship boss Bernie Ecclestone was very enthused about a potential 5-year deal with the Eastern European country. The initial discussions between the BMF representatives and the 79-year old Brit were focused on the 2011-2015 period of time, with Ecclestone even handing the Bulgarian officials the contract to be signed.

However, the lack of funds for the development (or at least building) of an F1 track in Bulgaria brought all those plans to a halt. And it's unlikely that those plans will be resumed in the upcoming few years.

“At the end of what was possibly our most successful season ever, we have to suspend all activities and shut down the federation. This federation cannot be sustained by the personal loans that I myself provide. I have to pay off debts and loans from banks, I even sold some of my own personal property to keep operations going,” said BMF chief Bogdan Nikolov.

Nikolov therefore hinted that the BMF received no help whatsoever from the Bulgarian government and the situation is unlikely to change in the future.

Under the circumstances, Bulgaria's plans to host a MotoGP race are also to be suspended, as the track was initially projected to host both F1 and motorcycle grands prix.