Hopes of Bulgaria joining the F1 calendar appear to have come to an end after the Bulgarian Motorcycling Federation – which was believed to have held talks with Bernie Ecclestone – announced that it was to suspend all its activities.

The current economic downturn has made the search for funding more difficult than in the past, with the state government refusing to provide any financial backing. Indeed, Bulgarian sports minister Svilen Neikov was quoted as stating that the only government assistance in building a new circuit for F1 and MotoGP would be to provide the land to allow construction to take place – with Ecclestone needing to find a company to then sponsor construction.

Thanks to that lack of government support, the BMF has now confirmed that it will suspend all activities, with chief Bogdan Nikolov admitted that the federation was simply unable to go on.

"At the end of what was possibly our most successful season ever, we have to suspend all activities and shut down the federation," Nikolov told the Sofia Echo. "This federation cannot 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 own personal property to keep operations going."

"To date we have received no assistance this year from the State Agency for Youth and Sports, nor the Sports Ministry, and there is no sign that we will in the future."

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