Champ Car Gets Toronto Ultimatum

Champ Car has been given an ultimatum by the race's current promoter to buy the assets of the race by the end of October and promote it itself, or risk losing it.

According to the Toronto Sun, Canadian beer giant Molson is applying pressure on Champ Car to purchase the race's assets, in a similar way to their buy up of Long Beach earlier this season.

Molson would still retain primary sponsorship of the event and is giving Champ Car first option on staging the race their next season. The event has already been announced on Champ Car's 2006 schedule on July 9.

Cynthea Galbraith, Molson sports and entertainment communications manager, said now was the time for Champ Car to buy the race.

She said: "What we have now is a memorandum of understanding that means if Champ Car wants to purchase the physical assets of the race, which is the blocks, the fences and the bridges, it has to do its due diligence now.

"If Molson is not going to run it then Champ Car will and that's the next best thing."

IRL has been linked to taking over Champ Car's race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal when their contract ends in 2006 and a Toronto race could form part of a Canadian double header.