Champ Car at LeMans

UPDATE #2 In this Grandprix.com article, Jacques Regis, the president of the Federation Francaise du Sport Automobile (FFSA), the promoter of the French Grand Prix, told reporters that the FFSA was paying Bernie Ecclestone $11.9m for the right to host the event. This year, in launching the event, he was not as forthcoming with information, explaining that that things would be just as difficult this year as last but refusing to talk about the numbers, except to say that the price being charged by the Formula One group had been increased by 10%. This means that the FFSA is paying $13m this year. …..The FFSA organization, which is run by Eric Barbaroux, a former manager at Prost Grand Prix, has worked hard to keep down the costs of the event but Regis says that it is not going to be easy to break even in 2005. "We are going to be on the limit," he said. "I think this is the case with all the race organizers. It is a real problem." Regis added that if F1 gets to be too expensive France might have to look elsewhere and commented that rumors that Le Mans might hold a Champ car race were "quite possible" given that Sebastien Bourdais comes from the town. "Motor sport is quite popular in France," he said. "The problem is accessibility. People would like to see it but they cannot afford it." 12/06/04 Sebastien Bourdais said in an interview Sunday on RMC INFO radio that he is involved in a project for a Champ Car French Grand Prix. If everything goes right, the race could be added to the 2005 championship, but the chances are not high. He said he tried to get the race on the Portland date but was not successful. Now it appears a September date is possible. Preliminary 2005 Champ Car schedule. 11/11/04 Autoracing1.com has learned that a race promoter has stepped forward and expressed an interest in promoting a Champ Car race on the Bugatti circuit at famous LeMans (map at right courtesy of e-tracksonline). The Bugatti circuit (shown right) is a 9-turn 2.655 mile circuit that uses the best parts of the longer 24 Hours of LeMans track. LeMans Location map.