It's been almost four years since the Champ Car series has raced in Europe, but organizers are planning on bringing it back. 2003 was the last season the declining American open-wheel series raced in Europe, when French ace Sebastien Bourdais – now three-time Champ champ – won both the races at Brands Hatch in England and the Lausitzring EuroSpeedway in Germany.
The latest reports suggest that the 2007 season will include two new races in Europe, though not at the same venues as previous seasons. On September 2, Champ Cars will be racing around Holland's Assen circuit, a former road track that has since been developed into a full facility. A week later, the second European race will be competing with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza when Champ Cars race at Zolder, once the site of the Belgian Grand Prix.
The two new European venues bring the Champ Car calendar up to a very full 17 races around the world, joined by events in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia and China. By comparison, the competing IndyCar series also has seventeen races scheduled for 2007, though the Motegi race in Japan stands alone as the IRL's only race abroad. If you were a driver aiming to climb up the ladder to Formula One, which would you choose?
[Source: GrandPrix.com]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
John P. @ Jan 17th 2007 5:10PM
Holland, Belgium, USA, Canada, China, Mexico, Australia, Looks Great! I hope they can keep this kind of momentum going until the IRL and Champ Car series smarten up and merge.
Scott @ Jan 17th 2007 6:47PM
If I were aiming for F1 via one of the American series (if you can even call Champ Car that these days, looking at their driver roster), Champ Car would be the clear choice with its focus on road courses and very international flavor. Right now the IRL is sort of like open-wheel NASCAR; far too many ovals for my taste, though the drivers are more relatable for Americans.
I agree with the previous poster however, it's time for Champ Car and IRL to come back together. A decade of driving each other to irrelevance is enough. Bring me 25 races per year, half road, half oval, a single engine source, a couple chassis manufacturers, and a mix of drivers from around the world. It doesn't have to "beat" F1 just entertain me with some good races and interesting drivers.
John M @ Jan 17th 2007 8:16PM
This is fantastic news! An aquaintance of mine, Curtis Somoza, advised me that Champ Cars were going to be racing in Europe. Now, if only Champ Car and IRL can get together on the same page.
Supercujo @ Jan 17th 2007 8:25PM
"If you were a driver aiming to climb up the ladder to Formula One, which would you choose?"
Go-Karts -> Formula Ford -> F3000 -> F3 -> F1
That is the normal way of doing things...
El Tiante @ Jan 17th 2007 11:00PM
Two words: Spa Francorchamps