Istanbul Park is a purpose-built motorsport facility designed by Hermann Tilke and opened in August 2005 in the Tuzla district on the Asian side of Istanbul. The circuit measures 5.338 km in length with a total of 14 corners. Its most celebrated feature is Turn 8, a fast sweeping left-hander with four apexes, compared by drivers and commentators to Eau Rouge at Spa-Francorchamps and 130R at Suzuka. The circuit runs anticlockwise, placing unusual strain on the right side of the driver's neck, and is known for generating rapid tyre wear. Former Formula One Chief Executive Bernie Ecclestone, who held managing rights to the circuit from 2007 to 2011, described it as "the best race track in the world." The circuit hosted the Turkish Formula One Grand Prix from 2005 to 2011, and MotoGP from 2005 to 2007. Formula One returned to Istanbul Park in 2020 and 2021 and is scheduled to return from 2027.
The 1000 Kilometres of Istanbul debuted on 13 November 2005. In that inaugural edition the race was run as a timed endurance event and ended after six hours had elapsed without the cars having covered 1000 km; the field did not reach the distance within the allotted time and the result was declared at the six-hour mark.
The 2006 running took place on 9 April 2006, opening the new Le Mans Series season. That year the race was shortened to a four-hour format due to a fuel logistics problem: insufficient fuel had been brought to the event by the organisers, making the full 1000 km distance unachievable. The 2006 Le Mans Series season notes record the Istanbul race as having been shortened from the original planned 1000 km to a four-hour limit for this reason.
Following the 2006 edition the race was not retained on the series calendar. Istanbul Park did not appear on subsequent Le Mans Series schedules, and the 1000 km Istanbul remains one of the shorter-lived events in the series' history. The circuit's Le Mans Series events are listed in Istanbul Park's historical record under the years 2005 and 2006.
The Le Mans Endurance Series, which became the Le Mans Series in 2006, was created by the ACO following the collapse of the original European Le Mans Series in 2001. The ACO's series featured races at 1000 km distance and offered automatic entries to the 24 Hours of Le Mans for championship finishers. Istanbul's addition to the 2005 calendar marked the series' first venture into Turkey. The Le Mans Series competed across four car classes: LMP1, LMP2, GT1, and GT2.