CART cancels California event
CART has decided to cancel the final round of the Champ Car World Series at California Speedway, which was originally postponed because of major forest fires in the US state
The event at the two-mile superspeedway in Fontana was originally postponed on Tuesday because of the continuing spread of fires in the Southern California area, several of which are within miles of the track. However, CART boss Chris Pook has taken the decision to cancel the race after investigating a range of options, including running at another circuit.
"Our thoughts are with those families dealing with the disaster in Southern California and we hope for a speedy end to the situation," said Pook. "Our diligence in pursuing the continuation of the race was only to ensure that we had exhausted every option available to us.
"CART Champ Car regrets that the event has been cancelled and we offered to explore every possible avenue, including running the event on Monday or Tuesday at Phoenix International Raceway - which is owned by California Speedway's parent company International Speedway Corporation - or running at the California Speedway track sometime next week, allowing us to run this race in a safe manner and have a proper end to the 2003 season."
Assuming that the cancellation stands, it will put an end to the 2003 Champ Car World Series season at 18 races. Although this will have no bearing on the identity of the champion, Paul Tracy having wrapped up the title at Surfers Paradise, it does ensure that Bruno Junqueira will finish as runner-up ahead of Michel Jourdain Jr. The two were split by just four points following the last race.
The champion will be officially crowned next Tuesday at the CART Champ Car Awards Celebration in Palm Springs, California.
Siemens wins ?13m Bahrain GP deal
SRIF funding for new Cranfield crash-impact centre
Magazine: Hamilton's F1 2009 woes retrospective, BMW Motorsport at 50
Lewis Hamilton’s struggles with mediocre Formula 1 machinery in 2009 and 2022 are compared in this week’s Autosport magazine, out today (11 August).
Rodin reveals more details about 'F1-beating' hypercar
More details have been revealed about Rodin’s new closed-cockpit FZERO hypercar, which it intends will offer greater performance than Formula 1 machinery.
Magazine: F1 Hungarian GP review, FE London and BTCC Knockhill
Last weekend's Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix, featuring another Ferrari clanger and Max Verstappen victory, is our focus on the cover of this week’s Autosport magazine, out today (4 August).
MotorsportDays LIVE reveals date of 2022 show at Silverstone
Motorsport Network is excited to announce that MotorsportDays LIVE will be held at Silverstone on 4-5 November 2022.
Why romanticism isn't the key factor in Lola’s racing return
The iconic Lola name is being relaunched after it was taken over by new ownership. Part of that reboot is a planned return to racing, though the exact details of this are still to be finalised - though its new owner does have a desire to bring the brand back to the Le Mans 24 Hours. But romanticism doesn't appear to be the driving force behind this renewed project...
Rating the best drivers of the century so far
Autosport's Top 50 feature has been a staple of the magazine for the past two decades since its first appearance in 2002. Here are the drivers that have featured most prevalently during that time
The best motorsport moments of 2021
Motorsport produced one of its greatest years of all-time in 2021 despite a backdrop of ongoing COVID-19 challenges and an ever-changing racing landscape. Through the non-stop action Autosport has collected the finest moments from the past 12 months to highlight the incredible drama and joy motorsport generates
The racing comeback artists who resurrected long-dormant careers
Making it in motorsport can be tough, and sometimes drivers move elsewhere before their best chance arrives. Here are some of those who made it back
The hidden racing gem attracting ex-F1 heroes
It’s rarely mentioned when it comes to assessing the best national contests, but the Brazilian Stock Car series that reaches its climax this weekend has an ever-growing appeal. Its expanding roster of ex-Formula 1 names has helped to draw in new fans, but it's the closeness of competition that keeps them watching
The one-time Schumacher rival rebooting his career Down Under
Joey Mawson made waves in the middle of the last decade, beating future Haas Formula 1 driver Mick Schumacher - among other highly-rated talents - to the 2016 German F4 title. A run in F1's feeder GP3 category only caused his career to stall, but now back in Australia Mawson's S5000 title success has set that to rights
The lesson football’s would-be wreckers could learn from racing
OPINION: The greed-driven push for a European Super League that threatened to tear football apart is collapsing at the seams. Motor racing's equivalent, the football-themed Superleague Formula series of 2008-11, was everything that the proposed ESL never could be
The F1 and Indy 'nearly man' that found contentment in Japan
Having had the door to F1 slammed in his face and come within three laps of winning the Indianapolis 500, the collapse of a Peugeot LMP1 shot meant Japan was Bertrand Baguette's last chance of a career. But it's one which he has grasped with both hands