OCTOBER 13, 2001

Honda pulls out of CART

HONDA has announced that it is pulling out of the CART series at the end of next year following the decision by the team owners to change the engine formula to 3.5-liter normally-aspirated engines. The Ford Motor Company is rumored to be considering a similar move, which would leave Toyota as the only supplier of engines in the series.

The announcement may spell the beginning of the end of CART as many of the teams have been considering a switch to the rival Indy Racing League. IRL does not race on road circuits and if CART does fade away there would be several important road race venues in the United States that would be up for grabs for F1, notably Long Beach, Laguna Seca and Road America.