JANUARY 21, 2003

No Champ Cars for Spa

The CART Champ Car series will not be racing this year at Spa-Francorchamps, which means that the classic Belgian racing facility will have to survive on income from its only big event left on the calendar: the Spa 24 Hours touring car race.

The local businesses in the region have been screaming since the Belgian Grand Prix was cancelled and Champ Car boss Chris Pook did take a look at the track but decided that it was not a good idea to go for a race this year. Pook says that Champ Cars may be seen at Spa in the future as there is no likelihood of Formula 1 returning in the immediate future - if ever.

There is a possibility that things will change after the forthcoming Belgian general elections in April but even if the current government does not survive there will not be any chance of an F1 race in 2003 and with two new races coming onto the F1 calendar next year it is unlikely that Spa will be able to get a new date.