The 10th round of what was to be the 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series schedule has been cancelled. On the series schedule since 2008, the Edmonton Indy has been put on the back burner, "We are disappointed that the city and the promoter were unable to reach an agreement on the venue changes," an INDYCAR statement read. "It’s unfortunate that in a time when IndyCar is experiencing momentum and growth, the city would want to miss out on the opportunity to be part of it. We’ve enjoyed our time at Edmonton as the fans there truly embraced Indy car racing."
Coming just 3-months after the announcement that Octane Racing Group signed on to a 3-year deal to promote both the IZOD IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights events in Edmonton, the deal fell through when negotiations between Octane and the city hit a wall. Due to a shutdown of the Eastern runway 16-34 of the City Centre Airport original track by the city, a new layout was decided upon, however, the $3.2 million (Canadian) investment required for repaving and site improvements could not be.
The loss of Edmonton cuts the 2011 preliminary schedule to 15 races, but the announcement of a finale should expand the season to 16 events, still fewest since 2006. However, INDYCAR is currently in talks with several entities, including Octane, to replace Edmonton, which would bump the reconfigured schedule back up to the original 17 event plan.
1 comments:
I hope indycar can find another place in canada to race and soon, or we wont have canadian drives. :<
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