bigbadbrother
03-22-2014, 04:48 AM
The INDYCAR sanctioning body has announced that it’s exploring a return of the Verizon IndyCar Series to Brazil for the 2015 championship. However, it’s not Sao Paulo that the series is looking at in regards to which city will host the event.
Instead, the series has revealed that they’re talking with event organizers in the South American country’s capital of Brasilia, which is home to more than 2.7 million people and will serve as one of the host cities for this summer’s FIFA World Cup.
The series raced from 2010-2013 in Sao Paulo, and enjoyed a strong local following there with Brazilian drivers such as Helio Castroneves and Tony Kanaan as the main attraction.
“Brazil has a real history in Indy car racing and we would like to re-establish a championship race there as early as 2015,” Hulman & Co. CEO Mark Miles said in a statement. “We are engaged in on-going discussions toward this goal and hope suitable arrangements can be finalized soon.
“There is still a lot of work to be done, but we are encouraged by the efforts from The Government of the Federal District – GDF and the Governor of Brasilia, Agnelo Queiroz, as well as the TV Bandeirantes Group.”
However, the Associated Press is reporting that “a deal with local race promoters was signed at an event in Sao Paulo” and that the GDF has said in a statement that there will be a race held from 2015-2019 at the Autodromo Nelson Piquet in Brasilia, a 3.4-mile road course.
That track is not to be confused with the former Autodromo Nelson Piquet in Rio de Janeiro, which hosted Formula One’s Brazilian Grand Prix in the 1980s and the Champ Cars from 1996-2000 on an accessory oval.
The AP also passes along a statement from Castroneves:
“I’m very happy to find out that our return to the calendar is secured. It will be great to race in Brasilia and I can’t wait for that to happen. Several challenges kept Brazil from hosting the race in 2014, but that’s life. Sometimes we need a step backward to come back stronger.”
When the sanctioning body released this year’s Verizon IndyCar Series schedule back in October of last year, Miles had left the door open for the Sao Paulo race’s return.
However, in December, the series sued Bandeirantes – reportedly for a sanctioning fee of just under $10 million – arguing that the promoter was contractually obligated to find another race venue when planned road work around the Sao Paulo street circuit caused Bandeirantes officials to tell INDYCAR that they couldn’t hold the event.
With that said, INDYCAR has continued to show the desire to return to Brazil, which has proven to be a solid market for the series. Considering that Bandeirantes appears in on this new race for Brasilia, perhaps the two sides have settled their differences in some form or another.
Instead, the series has revealed that they’re talking with event organizers in the South American country’s capital of Brasilia, which is home to more than 2.7 million people and will serve as one of the host cities for this summer’s FIFA World Cup.
The series raced from 2010-2013 in Sao Paulo, and enjoyed a strong local following there with Brazilian drivers such as Helio Castroneves and Tony Kanaan as the main attraction.
“Brazil has a real history in Indy car racing and we would like to re-establish a championship race there as early as 2015,” Hulman & Co. CEO Mark Miles said in a statement. “We are engaged in on-going discussions toward this goal and hope suitable arrangements can be finalized soon.
“There is still a lot of work to be done, but we are encouraged by the efforts from The Government of the Federal District – GDF and the Governor of Brasilia, Agnelo Queiroz, as well as the TV Bandeirantes Group.”
However, the Associated Press is reporting that “a deal with local race promoters was signed at an event in Sao Paulo” and that the GDF has said in a statement that there will be a race held from 2015-2019 at the Autodromo Nelson Piquet in Brasilia, a 3.4-mile road course.
That track is not to be confused with the former Autodromo Nelson Piquet in Rio de Janeiro, which hosted Formula One’s Brazilian Grand Prix in the 1980s and the Champ Cars from 1996-2000 on an accessory oval.
The AP also passes along a statement from Castroneves:
“I’m very happy to find out that our return to the calendar is secured. It will be great to race in Brasilia and I can’t wait for that to happen. Several challenges kept Brazil from hosting the race in 2014, but that’s life. Sometimes we need a step backward to come back stronger.”
When the sanctioning body released this year’s Verizon IndyCar Series schedule back in October of last year, Miles had left the door open for the Sao Paulo race’s return.
However, in December, the series sued Bandeirantes – reportedly for a sanctioning fee of just under $10 million – arguing that the promoter was contractually obligated to find another race venue when planned road work around the Sao Paulo street circuit caused Bandeirantes officials to tell INDYCAR that they couldn’t hold the event.
With that said, INDYCAR has continued to show the desire to return to Brazil, which has proven to be a solid market for the series. Considering that Bandeirantes appears in on this new race for Brasilia, perhaps the two sides have settled their differences in some form or another.