CART at Spa

[DavidStHubbins]

Just read on autosport that there is a chance for CART to race at Spa in 2004 maybe. That would rock IMO. What do u reckon? They could have a European season of Brands, german oval thingy and then Spa. Fingers crossed!

[Mr V]

It would be good, however if CART were to go to Spa, i reckon that it would be in place of the German oval race, not aswell as.

[DNQ]

I dunno, maybe not - after all, Pook was talking about 3-races in Europe for this year to begin with, but couldn't pull it off.

Spa and CART would be great, in any event...

[Jay]

I think F1 will be back there...but never know, that doesn't mean that Cart would run there either - though it might be a smaller audience.

[*formula3*]

yeah, why shouldn´t they have 3 races in europe, if the number of visitors in europe is much higher than in the US for example, they could decide to come here for 3 races
if they do them all in a row it isn´t a problem for the logistics, too

[mac]

Originally posted by mr v
It would be good, however if CART were to go to Spa, i reckon that it would be in place of the German oval race, not aswell as.

Not if Pook is serious about Volkswagen and Porsche.

[f1manoz]

Pook said he would like at least three European races, and Spa would be an absolutely perfect venue to host a ChampCar race. I hope he can pull it off.

[NGS]

Seeing "CART" and "Spa" mentioned in the same sentence makes my heart race. It's a shame it probably will turn out to just be a rumour, just like half the other supposed European races.

[paul-collins]

As much as I would love to see them at Spa, my gut tells me that it ain't going to happen. Pook wants gate, and Spa won't provide it to the standard that will be set at Brands (and Lausitz) this year.

Only if TV ratings for Brands rock in the US will Pook consider putting a race at Spa. (IMNSHO)

[¡As-de-mim!]

CART will not be racing at the much-loved Spa Francorchamps circuit in Belgium this year, Chris Pook has confirmed.

Spa, with its sweeping curves like Eau Rouge and picturesque backdrop of the Ardennes forest, has hosted Formula One since its inaugural modern championship year of 1950.

But a dispute with the governing FIA over tobacco advertising meant that the Belgian Grand Prix was cancelled for 2003 and in doubt of ever returning to the F1 calendar.

As a consolation for the local economy, though, F1 impresario Bernie Ecclestone introduced Spa to CART CEO Chris Pook, the American eager to move his Champcars into Europe.

'Spa is a fantastic racetrack,' he said. 'We had several conversations but we decided against it this year, although it could be on the cards for the future.

'We must be sure that we do things that create stability. Whether we should be racing at Spa in early May was a question for us.'

Pook concludes: 'It's not that we don't want to be there; we were very humbled by the offer to be there.'

[Tiresmoke]

Spa doesn't and probably won't have the stability that Pook needs. I think Pook wants an urban street race somewhere in Germany to replace the oval. That's Pook's idea of america's breed of open wheel racing. i expect champcars at brands for a while and by 2005 three euro races: oval, street, road course.

[¡As-de-mim!]

Brands will be on the former F1 road course within a couple of years. What oval will replace Lausitz?