AUGUST 24, 2013

New Jersey race not on 2014 calendar

Plans to take formula one to New Jersey are in tatters, as Bernie Ecclestone confirmed a race amid the Manhattan skyline will not happen in 2014.

This year's scheduled New Jersey race had already been delayed, but the F1 chief executive announced it also won't be on the 2014 calendar because organisers "haven't got any money".

Ecclestone told F1 business journalist Christian Sylt: "It's not on the cards for next year."

In the same CNN report, however, a spokesman for the event insisted preparations are in fact "on track for 2014".

He added that a statement will be issued after the 2014 calendar is officially published.

But Ecclestone likened the New Jersey foray to Donington's disastrous bid for the British grand prix a few years ago.

He said New Jersey "is like Donington all over again", adding that it is "such a muddle and a mess that it is not worth doing".

Ecclestone said he was surprised promoter Leo Hindery jr could not make the project work.

"The guy is a multibillionaire and is well-known in New York," Ecclestone told Sylt.

(GMM)