Iran Grand Prix

UPDATE And you thought we were pulling your leg with this rumor did you? Interestingly, the respected NY Times ran this related article. 05/18/05 Iran, neighbor of war torn Iraq, is scrabbling to squeeze onto the ever expanding F1 calendar. The Middle Eastern country has established a Motor Sports Federation, according to a report of the 'Iranian' publication, which met for the very first time last Sunday.

The meeting apparently canvassed 'the foundation of the country's first Formula One motoring piste (racetrack).' Iran's Motor Sports Federation also began planning for 'the construction of national … motoring teams,' 'Iranian' added.

Elsewhere, there are also reports of a visit of Bahrain grand prix boss Martin Whitaker to Greece, where he seemingly looked for a site to host a future F1 race there. One source, though, discredited the reports by explaining that Whitaker, on Monday – the day of his supposed Greek visit – was giving a speech at the Gulf Retail 2005 conference, at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Bahrain.