Newsroom
Gold Coast Indy 300 13th on the 2008 Grid
Wednesday, 7 November 2007
The Gold Coast Indy 300 on the streets of Surfers Paradise, Queensland, will be the penultimate round of next year’s Champ Car World Series on October 23-26, 2008.
Champ Car today released its 2008 schedule, opening the season in Long Beach to celebrate the premier Champ Car race’s Silver Anniversary and introducing a new Champ Car World Series event in Jerez, Spain, to expand its profile in Europe.
The Champ Car World Series, set to conduct its 30th season in 2008, will feature eight permanent road circuits and six temporary circuits.
It will hold six U.S. races, three races in Canada and one race in Mexico to maintain its solid base in North America with 10 races.
The open-wheel racing series also adds one new event in Europe to expand to three European races in 2008.
The Gold Coast Indy 300 will not only be a vital round of the Champ Car World Series, but the weekend will also play an important role in the outcome of the V8 Supercar Championship Series, which will be round 11 of the 14-round touring car battle.
Gold Coast Indy 300 General Manager, Greg Hooton, was pleased to again be provided with the penultimate Champ Car round and was one of the guests on an international phone hook-up this morning.
“Having just completed our 2007 round the other weekend where we hosted 314,000 fans over four days we're absolutely looking forward to 2008,” said Hooton.
“With the Queensland Government's continued support and the support of everyone, we think it's going to be another great season.
“Obviously, we're hoping that Will Power will do better in next year’s race in his Team Australia entry.
“Being the penultimate round does give us the chance to maybe see Will (Power) in a position to be challenging for the championship.
“We're more than happy to be involved in the whole series. We just see it going from strength to strength, and the racing in Europe has us all looking forward to next year.”
Champ Car Series President and CEO, Steve Johnson, pointed to 2008 as being a real consolidation year for the open-wheel series.
“We have succeeded in improving our schedules for next season, offering Champ Car fans, sponsors, teams, drivers, TV broadcasters and other stakeholders a cohesive, strong calendar of events,” said Johnson.
“We will stabilise our base in North America, begin a steady growth plan for Europe, and provide a balance of temporary and permanent circuits.”
“By pairing Jerez with Zolder and conducting them in June, we now will be in Europe during two different times next season rather than just one as we were in 2007.”
“Assen will remain in September, where it was very successful this year. The two 2008 trips expand our reach in Europe and establish two footprints for future growth there.”
Meanwhile The 2007 Champ Car World Series will reach a conclusion in Mexico this weekend.
Team Australia driver Will Power has been cleared to drive in the event after fracturing his wrist in an incident at his home race on the Gold Coast a couple of weeks ago.
Sebastein Bourdais, who collected a record fourth consecutive title at the Gold Coast Indy 300, will be making his last appearance in Champ Car before heading to Formula 1 next season.
Champ Car World Series 2008 Schedule*
EVENT DATES NAME, LOCATION, VENUE
April 20 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, Long Beach, California
Streets of Long Beach – Temporary Circuit
April 27 Champ Car Grand Prix of Houston at JAGFlo Speedway, Houston, Texas
JAGFlo Speedway at Reliant Park – Temporary Circuit
May 18 Champ Car Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, California
Laguna Seca – Permanent Circuit
June 1 Champ Car Belgium at Circuit Zolder, Zolder, Belgium
Circuit Zolder-Heusden – Permanent Circuit
June 8 Champ Car Spain at Circuito Permanente de Jerez, Jerez, Spain
Circuito de Jerez – Permanent Circuit
June 22 Champ Car Grand Prix of Cleveland, Cleveland, Ohio
Burke Lakefront Airport – Temporary Circuit
June 29 Champ Car Mont-Tremblant, Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, Canada
Circuit Mont-Tremblant – Permanent Circuit
July 6 Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Exhibition Place – Temporary Circuit
July 20 Rexall Grand Prix of Edmonton, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Rexall Speedway – Temporary Circuit
July 27 Champ Car Portland, Portland, Oregon
Portland International Raceway – Permanent Circuit
August 10 Road America Grand Prix, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
Road America – Permanent Circuit
September 14 Champ Car Holland at the TT Circuit Assen, Assen, Holland
TT Circuit Assen – Permanent Circuit
October 26 Gold Coast Indy 300, Surfers Paradise, Australia
Gold Coast, Australia – Temporary Circuit
November 9 Gran Premio Tecate Presentado por Banamex, Mexico City, Mexico
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez – Permanent Circuit
* Pending ACCUS/FIA Approval
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Champ Car today released its 2008 schedule, opening the season in Long Beach to celebrate the premier Champ Car race’s Silver Anniversary and introducing a new Champ Car World Series event in Jerez, Spain, to expand its profile in Europe.
The Champ Car World Series, set to conduct its 30th season in 2008, will feature eight permanent road circuits and six temporary circuits.
It will hold six U.S. races, three races in Canada and one race in Mexico to maintain its solid base in North America with 10 races.
The open-wheel racing series also adds one new event in Europe to expand to three European races in 2008.
The Gold Coast Indy 300 will not only be a vital round of the Champ Car World Series, but the weekend will also play an important role in the outcome of the V8 Supercar Championship Series, which will be round 11 of the 14-round touring car battle.
Gold Coast Indy 300 General Manager, Greg Hooton, was pleased to again be provided with the penultimate Champ Car round and was one of the guests on an international phone hook-up this morning.
“Having just completed our 2007 round the other weekend where we hosted 314,000 fans over four days we're absolutely looking forward to 2008,” said Hooton.
“With the Queensland Government's continued support and the support of everyone, we think it's going to be another great season.
“Obviously, we're hoping that Will Power will do better in next year’s race in his Team Australia entry.
“Being the penultimate round does give us the chance to maybe see Will (Power) in a position to be challenging for the championship.
“We're more than happy to be involved in the whole series. We just see it going from strength to strength, and the racing in Europe has us all looking forward to next year.”
Champ Car Series President and CEO, Steve Johnson, pointed to 2008 as being a real consolidation year for the open-wheel series.
“We have succeeded in improving our schedules for next season, offering Champ Car fans, sponsors, teams, drivers, TV broadcasters and other stakeholders a cohesive, strong calendar of events,” said Johnson.
“We will stabilise our base in North America, begin a steady growth plan for Europe, and provide a balance of temporary and permanent circuits.”
“By pairing Jerez with Zolder and conducting them in June, we now will be in Europe during two different times next season rather than just one as we were in 2007.”
“Assen will remain in September, where it was very successful this year. The two 2008 trips expand our reach in Europe and establish two footprints for future growth there.”
Meanwhile The 2007 Champ Car World Series will reach a conclusion in Mexico this weekend.
Team Australia driver Will Power has been cleared to drive in the event after fracturing his wrist in an incident at his home race on the Gold Coast a couple of weeks ago.
Sebastein Bourdais, who collected a record fourth consecutive title at the Gold Coast Indy 300, will be making his last appearance in Champ Car before heading to Formula 1 next season.
Champ Car World Series 2008 Schedule*
EVENT DATES NAME, LOCATION, VENUE
April 20 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, Long Beach, California
Streets of Long Beach – Temporary Circuit
April 27 Champ Car Grand Prix of Houston at JAGFlo Speedway, Houston, Texas
JAGFlo Speedway at Reliant Park – Temporary Circuit
May 18 Champ Car Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, California
Laguna Seca – Permanent Circuit
June 1 Champ Car Belgium at Circuit Zolder, Zolder, Belgium
Circuit Zolder-Heusden – Permanent Circuit
June 8 Champ Car Spain at Circuito Permanente de Jerez, Jerez, Spain
Circuito de Jerez – Permanent Circuit
June 22 Champ Car Grand Prix of Cleveland, Cleveland, Ohio
Burke Lakefront Airport – Temporary Circuit
June 29 Champ Car Mont-Tremblant, Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, Canada
Circuit Mont-Tremblant – Permanent Circuit
July 6 Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Exhibition Place – Temporary Circuit
July 20 Rexall Grand Prix of Edmonton, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Rexall Speedway – Temporary Circuit
July 27 Champ Car Portland, Portland, Oregon
Portland International Raceway – Permanent Circuit
August 10 Road America Grand Prix, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
Road America – Permanent Circuit
September 14 Champ Car Holland at the TT Circuit Assen, Assen, Holland
TT Circuit Assen – Permanent Circuit
October 26 Gold Coast Indy 300, Surfers Paradise, Australia
Gold Coast, Australia – Temporary Circuit
November 9 Gran Premio Tecate Presentado por Banamex, Mexico City, Mexico
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez – Permanent Circuit
* Pending ACCUS/FIA Approval
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