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Bernie hits back at 'foolish' quip

LONDON, England - F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has hit back at an American motor racing figure  who called him "foolish".

Eddie Gossage, president of Texas Motor Speedway, blasted Formula 1's chief executive for scheduling the 2014 US GP on the same November date as a major Nascar race and added: "I can't say I was surprised because Bernie Ecclestone does a lot of foolish things."

NO COMPREHENSION

Now 83-year-old Ecclestone has hit back, insisting Gossage and other Nascar officials do not understand the logistics faced by a global sport such as F1. He told Britain's Press Association: "We've a small problem they don't have. We have six jumbo jets to move around all our equipment and we have to find the most sensible way to use them to do that.

"There are issues that can occur but he and other people do not realise these things.

"The race prior to the one in the US is in Russia, in Sochi. We've never been there and we have to get out of there and into Austin. That is probably a lot easier than trying to get into Brazil, and then we have to get out of there to go to Abu Dhabi.

"Gossage is extremely lucky he doesn't have to do what we have to do."

Ecclestone also defended his colleagues at the US GP venue in Austin after Gossage accused them of lacking the "fortitude" to "say no" to the Nascar date clash. "I've spoken to the people that run the race at the Circuit of the Americas and they believe the Nascar crowd is a different crowd to F1...  different people, different customers.

"At the end of the day Nascar runs a domestic series in America – we run a world championship."
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