CART boss responds to Rockingham cancellation
source: autosport.com
CART boss Chris Pook has commented on the cancellation of the Rockingham 500
for next season, and has said that he intends for Champ Car's to race in Europe
next season.
Rockingham bosses took the decision not to host a CART event in 2003 after
deciding that their current contract was economically unviable. CART has been
linked with running three races in Europe next season, to be held at Brands
Hatch, Spa and Estoril. Octagon, which owns Brands Hatch, has denied that it has
made any deal to hold a Champ Car race.
Pook has left the door open for Rockingham to return to the CART schedule in
future, saying: "We would like to thank Rockingham and its promoters for
helping to stage two very memorable races over the last two seasons and we will
continue to talk about future events at the facility."
Despite the loss of Rockingham, Pook was adamant that CART would race in
Europe next year. "We are currently looking at some very exciting European
venues for the Champ Cars in 2003," Pook added. "In fact, I will be in
Europe this weekend for some business meetings and I plan to have some serious
discussions on prospective circuits for next season.
"As we've seen over the last two years, European fans have been very
receptive to our racing and we certainly intend for the European market to be
well represented on the 2003 Champ Car series schedule when all is said and
done."