The much-heralded New Jersey Grand Prix, tentatively scheduled to be held a week after the Canadian Grand Prix in June 2013, has been postponed for a year.
According to NJ.com
last night, and confirmed by Bernie Ecclestone today, the race has
been postponed because organizers are behind on road repairs and
obtaining permits to run the race through two communities.
A formal announcement of the postponement is to be made in New Jersey today, the website says.
Which probably mean it's never going to happen.
Behind in road repairs and obtaining permits?
Baloney. They don't have the money to do it, but nobody wants to say that.
The initial announcement about this race was in 2010 and was officially confirmed a year ago, in October, 2011.
It's October 2012 and in 12 months they can't pave a couple of streets and get a permit to hold the thing?
The race is on the hook for $30 million and organizers - dreamers, actually - have been unable to cough up the cash.
It is now highly unlikely they ever will.
This, of course, is terrific news for the future of the Canadian Grand Prix at Montreal. A fixture on the Grand Prix circuit since 1978, Montreal's date was seen as threatened after the current contract expires in 2014 because the $15 million sanctioning fee is a pittance by current F1 standards.
Canada (Montreal) would not have been able to remain on the calendar beyond 2014 if two races south off the border were each paying F1 $30 million to show up.
But with New Jersey now out of the picture, Montreal could hang in.
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