Indianapolis Set to Continue Hosting the US GP

The United States Grand Prix is set to remain at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a further two years after Formula One commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone said he is prepared to renew the contract for the race.

The circuit made its debut on the Grand Prix calendar in 2000 and although it is popular with the teams it has struggled to draw in the crowds since its unofficial 200,000 record attendance on its debut.

The current five-year deal for the race comes to an end after this weekend's event but there is an option for a further two years and Ecclestone is in negotiations with speedway president Tony George over a longer deal.

Ecclestone told the Indianapolis Star: "I just said to Tony 'we're happy if you're happy. If you don't want me to pick the option up I won't. If you want to extend the contract beyond the two years I will.

"We're going to make it work. I am committed. He's happy with it and we should continue with it. I left (the duration of the contract) to him. We have that sort of relationship. I have big respect for Tony."

The race moved from the previous September date to June this year to allow it to pair up with the Canadian Grand Prix and Ecclestone said he had been told that the move should help the crowd to increase in numbers.

Ecclestone has had preliminary discussions in New York about a possible street race in Manhattan and has also discussed a return to Long Beach in the future and team bosses have backed a possible second United States race.

McLaren-Mercedes boss Ron Dennis said: "I think we would all support it providing it didn't increase the calendar size and a west coast race would be very beneficial to the commercial interests of all of our teams."

But BAR-Honda chief David Richards believes the sport must find a better way of promoting itself to the public before any race in North America can actually break down the barriers and attract fans in numbers.

"We have got to look at how we get better penetration into America," said Richards. "There is little awareness of Formula One despite the fact that we are here this weekend and we were in Montreal last weekend."

Eddie Jordan, who runs the Jordan outfit, backed the expected continuation of the race at Indianapolis and pointed to rival races as examples of how the popularity of the sport can rapidly turn around.

"You must be a little patient," he said. "I remember not very long ago going to Barcelona to a handful of people and going to Canada to a handful of people and they turned out to be probably two of the best supported events on our calendar.

"So I am quite sure that things will turn around. We also have to get our act together and we do realise in an American context that we are not close enough to the people.

"We must make sure that we think carefully about this. We understand we have technology and we have new fangled cars and stuff but we also have to reach out and make that extra effort. That is part of the American culture."