Texas Grand Prix Gets Go Ahead
The new track built for this season’s United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, has been passed fit for racing, after bosses at the Circuit of The Americas track confirmed approval had been given.
Approval of the new track followed a pre-race inspection by Formula 1’s governing body, the FIA.
Scheduled for 18th November, the track has faced a number of problems in its preparation and was on the brink of being dropped from the calendar last year.
The approval of the track from the FIA ends a long-running saga dispute for the race, with building work halted late last year following disagreements between F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone and race organisers. The on-going saga saw construction stopped in November 2011 when the circuit’s owners were told they had not been granted a contract to stage the race.
Next year’s US Grand Prix is due to take place in New Jersey, but that event is now in doubt, with Ecclestone repeatedly questioning the organisers’ readiness to stage the race.
The Grand Prix has been included on the provisional race list for 2013 and the calendar will be finalised on Friday.
Austin will be the first circuit to host an F1 race in the US for five years, when Indianapolis hosted the sport between 2000 and 2007.
