Well, not Bayonne, exactly. But Jersey City. What do people think of this idea?
Officials from Jersey City have confirmed that they have held preliminary talks with Formula 1 over the possibility of staging a grand prix, after plans for a race in Liberty State Park from 2012 emerged. Bernie Ecclestone has a long-held ambition to take the sport to New York, with the F1 supremo keen for its next venture into the US market to be more high-profile than its last stint at Indianapolis in 2000-2007. And although the possibility of holding a race on the streets of New York City has been thought unlikely, it has been revealed that a proposal for an event on the other side of the Hudson River in Jersey City, New Jersey for at least five years from 2012 has been drafted.
Tourism agency Destination Jersey City has put together a promotional document for a race which includes a proposed design for a 3.6-mile track that crosses the 1,212-acre state park. The Jersey Journal quotes the proposal document as saying: “With the incredible backdrop of the New York City skyline, selecting Jersey City for the 2012 Grand Prix Auto Race Circuit will not only boost ticket sales as the Grand Prix returns to the United States, but will provide striking television footage.”
Following criticism of the proposal by park campaigners, Jersey City mayor Jerramiah Healy spoke with the Friends of Liberty State Park group before issuing a statement in which he confirmed the city had been one of several approached by F1’s management – although he stressed that the plans were only in their very early stages. “This [plan] was a response to an overture made by Formula 1 and Jersey City is one of several cities they are pursuing,” Healey said. “There have been a few, preliminary conversations and this is very much in the exploratory phase. However, this may not be something that is in the best interest of Jersey City or Liberty State Park."
F1’s manufacturer teams are keen for a US Grand Prix to be reinstated as soon as possible and speculation that the event could yet return to Indianapolis surfaced last month when the circuit’s former boss Tony George and leading US promoter Zak Brown visited the Chinese Grand Prix. Although Ecclestone pulled the Indianapolis race from the 2008 calendar after failing to agree financial terms on a new deal with George and has since criticised how the historic venue promoted the race, Brown suggested that the F1 impresario would need “no arm twisting” to go back to the Brickyard should it manage to secure the necessary funding.
