Surprise, surprise: Rio race is cancelled

After a long-running stand-off between race organisers and the local mayor, Cesar Maia, over the financing of the event, CART has finally run out of patience and cancelled the race.

"After exploring all possibilities with the promoter of the event, we unfortunately have reached the conclusion that it is impossible to go forward with this year's Rio 200," said CART President and CEO Joseph Heitzler. "This is most regrettable."

CART vice-president Tim Mayer went to Rio to meet with Maia, but the Rio mayor cancelled every face-to-face meeting that was scheduled: "I find this activity to be one of the most immature actions that I have ever had to deal with. He has taken it upon himself to do a kind of 'sports cleansing' as in addition to our race, he has cancelled a major motorcycle event [the Brazilian 500cc Grand Prix]."

The main player behind the Rio race, former F1 and CART champion Emerson Fittipaldi, has been gutted by the decision by killjoy mayor Maia, who refuses to pay for the event to go ahead, despite a long-term contract being in place. "This is a great embarrassment for all of Brazil," said a bitter 'Emmo'.

His nephew, Christian Fittipaldi, is one of the ten Brazilian drivers who won't now get to race in front on their home fans.

"It's extremely disappointing not to race in Rio, not only for me because I am a Brazilian but also for the fans we have in the country," said Christian, who is currently on his honeymoon. " After it was initially announced that the new mayor of Rio put the race on hold to review the city contracts, I knew that my uncle would work very hard to keep this race on the schedule. I know he did his best to find a solution but the situation was out of his hands. CART racing is growing in popularity in Brazil partly due to the success of the Brazilians who represent our country in this sport. It is a shame that the new mayor made this decision."

His Newman-Haas team mate, Cristiano da Matta, hopes Champ Cars will make a return to Rio soon, and that this isn't a death knell for the Autodromo Nelson Piquet.

"If they close the facility it would also be a shame," he said. "The first time I ever drove a racecar was there. It would be crazy to get rid of the track. It is in good condition. Probably the only thing that is needed to put on a good race there is for the grass to be mowed. There has been a lot invested in the past five years to improve the track, it is a shame that it won't be used. The interest in Brazil grows every day and this is the only chance for the fans to watch us race in person, up-close. With ten Brazilians doing very well in the series, I do not understand why this happened."

The CART schedule is now reduced to 21 rounds - no replacement event will be run, as the contract with Rio doesn't allow the event to be held anywhere else in Brazil. Heitzler has promised to take legal action against Rio's city governors over the fiasco.