As recently as August, F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone had said the New Jersey F1 race was not going to happen in the 2014 season. Today, the FIA released the full official calendar, and New Jersey is on it. But only provisionally.
A trio of other races also join the calendar for 2014, including Austira, Russia, and Mexico. Joining New Jersey on the provisional list are the races scheduled for Kora and Mexico.
The provisional status of the New Jersey race leaves some room for doubt as to whether it will actually happen, especially after seeing a recent lap of the proposed course--the roads are bumpy, there are many roadside obstacles to barricade, and simply shutting down the streets in the area may prove beyond difficult. And that's before the issue of fund raising by the race organizers--already problematic--raises its head.
Add to that the scheduled June 1 race date, putting the New Jersey race at eigth in the 22-race calendar, and there's not much time left to prep the circuit and supporting facilities, which will have to pass FIA approval before the race gets the final green light.
The 2014 calendar (provisional) in full:
16/03 Australia
30/03 Malaysia
06/04 Bahrain
20/04 China
27/04 Korea (provisional)
11/05 Spain
25/05 Monaco
01/06 America, New Jersey (provisional*)
08/06 Canada
22/06 Austria
06/07 Britain
20/07 Germany
27/07 Hungary
24/08 Belgium
07/09 Italy
21/09 Singapore
05/10 Russia
12/10 Japan
26/10 Abu Dhabi
09/11 USA, Austin
16/11 Mexico (provisional*)
30/11 Brazil
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