Circuit of The Americas Has Been Approved
50 days before the first day of the United States Grand Prix race weekend, the FIA's Charlie Whiting has said the Austin circuit is ready for racing. In an article written by SPEED's Adam Cooper, Whiting says, "The guys have done an awesome job – it really is quite fantastic! It’s built to the highest quality, exactly as we expected, and I’ve got absolutely no complaints whatsoever."
Barring any eleventh hour disaster, it appears the United States Grand Prix will be run for the first time since 2007.
More Schedule Releases
Formula One, Moto GP and NASCAR have all released their 2013 schedules. Formula One has 20 races planned, with the Grand Prix of America planned for June 16 on the street of Weehawken, New Jersey. Bernie Ecclestone has come out saying no contract currently exists between Formula One and the organizers of the New Jersey street race. The European Grand Prix on the streets of Valencia will not take place in 2013, as it plans on alternating the Spanish Grand Prix with the Circuit de Catalunya. The season is scheduled to start March 17 in Australian and end November 24 in Brazil. Austin is scheduled for the week prior to Brazil in 2013.
Moto GP will open, as usual, under the lights in Qatar on Easter Sunday (March 31) and end at Valencia's Circuit Ricardo Tormo on November 10. Two TBCs exist on back-to-back weeks for April 14 and 21. The races are believed to be Argentina and the third American round at the Circuit of The Americas. The other two American rounds will occur back-to-back just like 2012. The United States Grand Prix will be July 21 at Laguna Seca and Indianapolis will be on the 18th of August.
NASCAR's scheduled remains almost unchanged in 2013. Kansas Speedway and Talladega swap dates in October with Kansas now on the 6th and Talladega on the 20th. The season begins at Daytona on February 24 and ending at Homstead on November 17.
Sports Car Action This Weekend
The Rolex Sports Car Series wraps up the 2012 season at Lime Rock Park on Saturday. Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas look to win another title and hold off Ryan Daziel and Starworks Motorsport. Emil Assentato and Jeff Segal clinched the GT title at Laguna Seca.
Meanwhile, the sixth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship will take place in Bahrain. Coming off their first victory at Interlagos, Toyota looks to hold off Audi for a second straight race. The American Starworks Motorsport leads the LMP2 standings, while Krohn Racing and AF Corse-Waltrip with Brian Vickers competes in the GTE-Am class.
