The FIA WEC made the announcement yesterday that the Sao Paulo round of the FIA World Endurance Championship would be cancelled and was to be replaced by a new race at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. According to WEC CEO Gerard Neveu, COTA was chosen because it was 'a reliable choice.'
Speaking to Motorsport Week after the FIA Hall of Fame ceremony in Paris, Neveu was asked on his choice for the Texas track and replied: "Because you have a reliable choice. When you race in February, you cannot go to Europe it doesn’t make sense to go back to Asia, we will not stay in the Middle East because we’re already doing a race in December, so we were looking for a race.
"Some people asked me about Kyalami, but it was absolutely too short. In two months, you cannot set up an event like this."
The championship's CEO hinted that COTA's relatively close proximity to Sebring (where the next round of the championship will be held afterwards) also played a role in the decision.
"So we just checked where we went before, where we have a good knowledge, good experience, and we called our friends from COTA, we maintain a good relationship with them," Neveu continued. "And as we are racing for Super Sebring, which is one of the major events of the season for us, it was good to stay not far away, to also help save money for the teams.
And the drivers love COTA, the teams like to go there, so it was the best compromise. Fortunately, the people from the circuit accept us very well."
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