Edmonton renews Champ Car deal

Regarded as one of the major success stories of the 2005 season, the first Grand Prix of Edmonton drew more than 200,000 fans over three days to watch the first meeting around the 1.9-mile Edmonton City Centre Airport course.

It also provided one of the best races of the season, with Sebastien Bourdais winning the inaugural event after Justin Wilson spun under caution, and AJ Allmendinger hit the wall with just minutes of the race remaining.

Race organisers announced a number of changes to the track layout for next year's event, including the addition of 3,600 grandstand seats in the turn 4-5-6 complex, and eliminating the grassy area between the pits and the front stretch, moving the pits next to the track and therefore shuffling forward the suites and grandstands closer to the track.

Champ Car president Steve Johnson said: "Edmonton truly showed greatness in its first year, reaching a level that some events take 10 years to reach.

"Canada is a big part of our heritage and we value all of the support we receive in our Canadian events. We are very pleased to announce this extension and look forward to many years of racing in Edmonton."