The inaugural Grand Prix of Boston has been cancelled, after promoters of the race were forced to pull out after their relationship with city officials became “untenable”.
The race was scheduled to take place during the Labour Day weekend celebrations between September 2-4, around a 2.2-mile temporary street course.
“The relationship between us and the city is not working,” explained John Casey, President of the Grand Prix of Boston, in an interview with The Boston Globe.
“The relationship is untenable.”
A “Plan B” is already in place by the promoters to try and find an alternative venue in the Northeast to host the Labour Day event, with New England rumoured to be one of the potential candidates.
“They [the potential venues] are both willing to do it without the headaches of Boston,” continued Casey.
During the last month debates had raged between the promoters and city officials regarding the running of the inaugural Grand Prix of Boston, with obstacles such as flood zone issues and further expenditure proving too great to overcome.
"An event of this magnitude requires considerable city and state support and though we did overcome significant obstacles and demands that have been presented to us, the most recent demands regarding the flood zone issues and requirements of additional expenditure on the line of credit with no guarantees of overcoming those issues have left us no options but to cancel the race in Boston and look at other options,” read a full statement issued by Casey on Friday night.
"At this juncture the demands that have been asked of us make this event in Boston economically unviable and despite robust corporate partnerships and excellent tickets sales, if we have no guarantee of MEPA approval then time was of the essence to make this difficult decision.
"We have had a team of over 50 people, as well as the city and state agency personnel who have been working tirelessly to find successful and viable solutions and unfortunately we are at an impasse.”
The city officials responded with their own statement from Patrick Brophy, Boston’s mayor’s chief of operations.
"The City of Boston will always be open to opportunities that will positively showcase our city," read Brophy’s statement.
"However as we continued to work with Boston Grand Prix they were unwilling or unable to meet the necessary requirements to hold an event of this size.
"The mayor feels strongly in protecting the taxpayers and limiting the impact to residents, and we are not shy that we held them to very high standards.”
Meanwhile INDYCAR officials are refraining from commenting on the prospect of a replacement for the Grand Prix of Boston.
“INDYCAR was made aware of the news involving the Grand Prix of Boston this evening,” read an official statement from the series.
“We are obviously disappointed with these media reports and are in the process of gathering additional details and will respond accordingly at the appropriate time.
“At this stage it is premature for INDYCAR to comment further on the situation locally in Boston or the prospect of an alternate event.”
This is the second year in which an inaugural IndyCar event has been cancelled, after the late cancellation of the Brasilia Indy 300 at the Autodromo Internacional Nelson Piquet last season.
