WEEHAWKEN, WEST NEW YORK, AND BEYOND — Bernie Ecclestone, president of Formula One, has stated that the contract for the June 2013 Grand Prix of America race set to run on local streets in Weehawken and West New York has been ripped up, according to the Guardian. Organizers of the race have missed too many deadlines, Ecclestone said, according to the report.
After the August resignation of race president Tom Cotter and other reports on various financial challenges, the race has been in question, though just last week the date of August 13 was confirmed.
The report quotes Ecclestone saying that the organizers “have not complied with the terms and conditions of the contract which is now gone anyway. They don’t have a contract.”
Ecclestone was reported to have been considering a replacement race in Mexico, and then on to South Africa, said the Guardian.
Construction on the 3.2 mile track has already begun, and racer Sebastian Vettel has already run test laps.
“Whether or not this is just a negotiation issue between the two parties, we don’t know for sure yet,” said Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner Tuesday afternoon. “As soon as we find out more, we can be sure either way.”
The race calendar will be finalized by the World Motor Sport Council of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile by Sept. 28, the article stated, and Ecclestone reportedly said that if the organizers cannot get the financial support required by then, the race will be impossible.
“We are pretty close to the final deadline,” Ecclestone said in the article. “We have got a world council meeting coming up. I think if somebody got behind them it could happen in 2013 because they have come a long way with the circuit.” — Gennarose Pope