The New Jersey Grand Prix is on track for its delayed 2014 debut, according to race promoter Leo Hindery Jr.
The race, which will become the second North American event on the calendar alongside Austin, Texas, was supposed to be a feature of the 2013 schedule, but was postponed a year due to construction problems.
Hindery believes Ecclestone made the right decision, but things are now progressing ‘comfortably’ for a mid-2014 inaugural race.
“I think that Bernie made absolutely the right decision [to postpone],” he told the Sports Business Daily.
“We are back under construction,” he added, having gained all the necessary permissions from the local authorities. “We have the consents in place that we didn’t have last fall, and we will quite comfortably put the race on, now probably in the mid-year of 2014 with [Ecclestone’s] support.”
With the pit complex nearing completion, the main areas which need attention are the circuit itself, which at present is made up of public roads, transportation and the grandstands.
“The pavement work will start around September when the weather is most conducive to do such work,” he said. “The second piece that needs attention includes transportation and seating alongside the Hudson River.
“We are going to put some, like a pontoon, floats where some of the ferries that will serve the race will dock. We have about 39 ferries that will be part of the transportation scheme. And we will do some work over the summer to make the landing area for the ferries a little larger and that will include some stands right on the river’s edge.”
