Baltimore terminates IndyCar race contract

Filed under: Motorsports



Racing fans who enjoyed the spectacle of open-wheel single-seaters racing around Baltimore's Inner Harbor and past Camden Yards where the Orioles and the Ravens play may be disheartened to read of the latest developments. But take heart: it ain't over, they say, until the fat lady sings, and in this case she appears only to have taken a brief intermission.

The future of the Baltimore Grand Prix (an IndyCar race, not to be confused with Formula 1 grands prix that typically take the host country's, not the host city's name) has been in jeopardy for several months now. As with many things, the issue boiled down to money: while most communities support such racing events financially with public funds, the organizers of the Baltimore Grand Prix were expected to remunerate the city to the tune of $1.5 million. At the end of the day, Baltimore Racing Development failed to meet its financial commitments, so the city has revoked the firm's contract only one year into its five-year term.

So does that mean the race won't be held again? The signs seem to point in a positive direction, as the city holds discussions with other organizers interested in taking BRD's place. Series organizers appear to have faith that a new deal will be put in place in time for the upcoming season, with the event currently on the official IndyCar Series race calendar for September 2.

The new calendar, meanwhile, drops the races in Milwaukee, New Hampshire and Kentucky. Las Vegas was also removed from the calendar following the now-infamous Wheldon crash, while the race in Japan was replaced by a new grand prix in Qingdao, China.Baltimore terminates IndyCar race contract originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 02 Jan 2012 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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