It will certainly be interesting in racing conditions, when the weather is expected to be much hotter than we've experienced here today."The spectators had a pretty good time too, especially those prescient enough to position themselves by turns eight or 10 where most of the off-track action was centred. And it involved some of the sport's most respected names, as they pushed the envelope and explored a changing level of grip on a track that was still quite dirty and features a lot of corners where the drivers cannot see the turn-in point until they are right on top of it.Commitment and attack are the name of the game here, and Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen, Rubens Barrichello and Juan Pablo Montoya were among those who erred at times.While the usual faces featured at the top of the times - Friday testers Ricardo Zonta for Toyota and Pedro de la Rosa for McLaren set the pace from regular McLaren racers Montoya and Raikkonen and Button - it also provided the canvas for some stunning artistry from Tonio Liuzzi. It has a nice flow to it, a wide variety of corners, and is really good to drive."The championship leader Fernando Alonso said: "The circuit is challenging, with blind entries to corners at turns one and three, plus a really unusual difficult corner at turn eight which is different to any other track."BAR-Honda's Jenson Button said: "I enjoyed my first real taste of the new circuit and it has a very good layout. To a man, the drivers love the place. Jacques Villeneuve thought it "a great track. Welcome to the inaugural Turkish Grand Prix.When you consider the timescale in which the Turkish Otodrom has been put together, from architect Herman Tilke's initial concept to its awesome conclusion, it is little short of startling and a firm indication of what a suitable budget - said to have been around the €200m (£140m) mark - can do when it is spent sensibly.
It was the dun cow trying to race the traffic on the hard shoulder of the motorway on the way to Formula One's latest opulent new venue yesterday morning that struck the jarring note, especially as nobody seemed too bothered by their unrestrained bovine rival. You would expect myriad armed policemen and security guards in a country where terrorist bombings have recently done their worst to disrupt the crucial tourism industry, so it was no surprise to learn that there have been 4,000 independent guards, 2,000 military police and 800 Istanbul City police (on lucrative overtime) safeguarding the Formula One circus after it hit town on Wednesday. He came home in 31 to take his place alongside Woods and Stenson.Luke Donald is in the hunt for the title after opening with a 69, while David Howell, who returned last week after two months out with a torn abdominal muscle, matched Colin Montgomerie's 70.Northumberland's Kenneth Ferrie, playing his first US Tour event, and Paul McGinley are only one further back.. It's one of the greatest courses we can ever play," the Masters and Open champion said.Singh has not managed one top-five finish on the course in the same stretch, but may be developing a liking. After making a putt of over 60 feet at the short fifth - his 14th - he stood six under and two in front, but the 29-year-old three-putted the next and hit the sand on the seventh.Singh beat Woods the last time they had a duel, but getting the better of him at Firestone Country Club is a tough task for anybody.Woods has had three wins, a second and a fourth on his last five visits and his bogey-free 66 took him to a cumulative 60 under par.That includes rounds of 61 and 62 - and nothing worse than a 72."I'd love to see a major here. That's not how I was raised - society has changed."Woods was joint overnight leader in the NEC world championship here, a four-under 66 putting him level with Vijay Singh and Sweden's Henrik Stenson.England's 23-year-old Nick Dougherty resumed yesterday only one behind along with Americans Davis Love and Chris DiMarco.The 23-year-old, whose maiden European tour win in Singapore in January qualified him for the event, was the joint leader with one hole to play, but could not recover from pulling his drive into trouble.Stenson finished disappointingly too.
"It leaves a sour taste in your mouth for a lot of the guys out here on tour, not just myself," the world No 1 said. "Kids are now being paid as runners to go get autographs and the guy gives them cash on the spot. "I'm giving something of myself and your intention is that they will cherish it, not value it as monetary goods Unfortunately that's the nature of things now The guy takes it, frames it and then sells it. A loss would spell a crisis ahead of next week's Champions' League qualifier against Famagusta of Cyprus."This job is so exciting it's not true," Strachan insists And he has yet to taste the biggest game of them all.. Tiger Woods has spoken of his annoyance about the way people are making money out of his autograph. A first defeat to Aberdeen in seven years last weekend - when the influential Fernando Ricksen was sent off, was hiccup No 1 of the campaign A draw today would be No 2. Despite a steadied ship, doubts linger among the faithful.If he masterminds the kind of derby debut that his predecessor Martin O'Neill did, a 6-2 win, four years and 51 weeks ago today, he could be set fair, as the Ulsterman was, on a voyage of achievement A draw would be acceptable But defeat? Cue a fresh debate about his credentials. Such is the harsh reality in a city where 100,000 people have Old Firm season tickets, and tens of thousands are parked on waiting lists.McLeish has his own, lesser concerns Lesser unless Rangers lose, that is.
