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Monday, November 23, 2009 FIA's Todt to Talk Bulgarian Rally - Not F1GP
 by Walter Elliott
SOFIA, Bulgaria -- Newly elected FIA President Jean Todt said that he will be talking with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and the head of the Bulgarian Federation of Motor Sport about the route of that country's World Rally Championship round - and not a proposed F1 Grand Prix race Monday.
Todt, in a published report Friday, said he was not aware of any F1GP sanctioning contract signed between the FIA and the Bulgarian Motorcycle Federation. BMF President Bodgan Nikolov had said that Formula One management President Bernie Ecclestone had signed a preliminary contract since Sept. 12.
Nikolov, however, announced Nov. 12 that he has dissolved the 17-year-old BMF and abandoned plans to build a F1 GP-level track near the north central city of Pleven. He said that the Bulgarian sports ministry could only give "land for construction" and that he has tired of paying the group's bills.
"At the end of what was possibly our most successful season ever, we have to suspend all activities and shut down the federation," said Nikolov to "The Sofia Echo." "The federation can't 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 personal property to keep operations going."
Nikolov was referring to this season where the International Motocrcycling Federation had sanctioned a "Supercross of Nations" and an FIM road race at Pleven's military airfield road course. The FIM and BMF had meanwhile signed an agreement to hold a FIM MotorGP round at Pleven 2011-2015.
Pleven was considered the F1 GP venue front runner. It's 14-turn .806-mile course would have been upgraded, possibly including the airfield's two landing strips. Ecclestone added on Sept. 12, that three other sites near Sofia and two costal towns were also being considered.
Nikolov, a fromer motorcycle road racerr, helped found the BMF Oct. 26, 1991. Although the defense ministry allowed at least 15 go kart tracks to be built in the mid-1980s, BMF's emphasis has been on road rallying and motorcycling.
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