Sunday, February 8, 2015

Brasilia IndyCar race that would have opened 2015 season cancelled

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/117507

(by Mark Glendenning autosport.com 1-30-15)

IndyCar's planned 2015 season-opener at Brasilia in Brazil has been cancelled.

The series confirmed the cancellation late on Thursday, although no reason was given.

"[Event promoter] BAND announced today that the race scheduled for March 8 in Brasilia has been cancelled," read a statement from IndyCar.

"This comes as a great disappointment, and we will have further comment when we have had the opportunity to talk with all of our partners and the authorities in Brazil."

The event would have been IndyCar's first at the Autodromo Internacional Nelson Piquet, and was set to represent a return to Brazil after the Sao Paulo street race fell off the calendar in 2013.

It is the second new IndyCar fly-away to have been cancelled at the 11th hour in recent years, following on from the abandoned race in Qingdao in China that was slated for 2012.

Brasilia's absence means that St Petersburg will reclaim its status as IndyCar's season-opener when it hosts the series on the last weekend in March.

That race will also mark the debut of the manufacturer-designed aero kits.