“We have signed a contract for the MotoGP race, and we also have reached an agreement on a Formula One race,” Petkov was quoted as saying to the Trud daily.
Bulgaria recently secured the hosting of a MotoGP race starting 2011, on a circuit that is yet to be built. According to media reports in the country, the venue will be placed near the capital Sofia. It seems the Formula One race is also to be held at the aforementioned circuit, only on a different layout.
Works has already gotten under way at the site, with the official deadline set for January 2011.
Neither the FIA nor Bernie Ecclestone confirmed the news via a press release. Although the Bulgarian authorities have conducted a series of talks with the 78-year old Brit in recent months, the overall opinion within the country's Motor Sport Federation is that Bulgaria will have a hard time raising funds for hosting an F1 race.
The Bulgarian Grand Prix is to make the Formula One calendar in either 2011 or 2012, with the FIA yet to give the race a clear status. Depending on how things work out with the building of the track and fund-raising for the event, the deal with the FIA might be for consecutive years or bi-annual (as part of FIA's rotational system).
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