Brands out, Seoul in?

Kevin Kalkhoven, who comprises one-third of the Open Wheel Racing Series partnership that is bidding to privatise Champ Car and revitalise the CART championship, said at Surfers Paradise that the Champ Car series will race in Seoul, South Korea in 2004, but that the series will no longer visit Britain

Oct 25, 2003, 10:28 AM

Kalkhoven said that the two European races at Brands Hatch and EuroSpeedway Lausitz in Germany will be dropped from the Champ Car schedule, which is expected to be capped at 16 races and be revealed next weekend at California Speedway.

"Our focus is in the Americas, North and South, and the Pacific Rim and we're going to take it steady," Kalkhoven said. "We've already got government backing and assistance from the city of Seoul, and that will comprise our second event in this region of the world."

The news has been hailed as extremely positive by the organisers of the Gold Coast Champ Car round because they will be able to share the cost of shipping the Champ Car series around the world with another event.

Kalkhoven said that CART's withdrawal from Europe was spurred by economic and competitive considerations.

"Going to Europe into the heartland of Formula One is not the smartest thing we could do," he said. "We have not made any filings with the FIA to do any races in Europe."