In October, Rustavi, the city of Georgia, will host the first international tournament on a renewed autodrome. In future, world championships will be held there.

Jean Todt, president of Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, visited Georgia. He met president of Georgia and the managements of MIA and Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs. He visited sports autodromes in Batumi and Rustavi and learnt about the roads’ conditions. Todt liked that Georgian people use seatbelts and he was surprised to know that people do not use it on backseat…

FIA is not sports organization. 90 per cent of its activities do not deal with sport. Visit of Todt cannot be considered as sports event. The main purpose of his arrival was to visit building autodromes in Batumi and Rustavi.

Jean Todt: “I was very surprised in Georgia. Before coming here, I was in Ukraine and Armenia but what I have seen here surprised me most of all. Yesterday, I visited Batumi. Today, I visited autodrome in Rustavi and I would call it autocity. I was introduced to president of Georgian Automobile Federation Shota Apkhazava. International tournaments can be held in Rustavi. FIA will help Georgia”.

Rustavi autodrome is being built now and besides Formula 1, other tournaments can be held there. Tribunes will be for 7 000 men. Highway will be ready for July, reconstruction will end up in October and the first international tournament will be held then.

Lado Vardzelashvili (minister of Sports and Youth Affairs of Georgia): “International autodrome is being built in Rustavi. We have one autodrome in Batumi and our goal is to popularize this sport. Our government does its best”.

Zura Ksovreli