On Thursday, INDYCAR has confirmed it won’t be adding an extra round of the championship in Mexico City for its 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season.
A Mexico round was left off the initial 2018 calendar released, but Hulman & Co. CEO Mark Miles said on a teleconference later that day that Mexico was still possible and projected for August.
Had it been added, it seemed to get set for the August 3-5, 2018 weekend, which would have been a week after the Honda Indy 200 from the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
But alas, it won’t happen. First reported by the Sports Business Journal and confirmed via IndyCar’s website, the series said it’ll continue to work on a race down the road.
“INDYCAR is invested in the process of putting together the right deal with a partner we are certain can deliver this race,” said Mark Miles, CEO of Hulman & Company, the parent of INDYCAR and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“We are not at the point where we can finalize a contract for the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season and felt that we couldn’t delay the decision any longer, in fairness to our teams, manufacturers and other stakeholders who need time to properly prepare for an event of such magnitude.
“INDYCAR appreciates the rich racing history in Mexico and we would like to be part of that once again. We will keep working with the intent of making an INDYCAR event in Mexico City a reality in the future.”
The last North American open-wheel series race in Mexico was to cap off the 2007 Champ Car World Series season, when Sebastien Bourdais won over Will Power and Oriol Servia.
MEXICO CITY, DF - NOVEMBER 11: Sebastien Bourdais driver of the #1 McDonald’s Newman Haas Lanigan Racing Panoz DP0 celebrates with second placed Will Power and third placed Oriol Servia after winning the ChampCar World Series Grand Premio Tecate on November 11, 2007 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Darrell Ingham/Getty Images)
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