Soon after it was revealed Hamilton would no longer host a round of the World Rally Championship, another one of its other major motorsport events has been postponed and possibly lost for good.
An A1GP meeting, which had been rumoured to take place later this year at the Hampton Downs circuit near Meremere, is now off the cards for this year with an early February 2010 date pencilled in at the new circuit and a more concrete date later in the year also being booked, according to Hampton Downs’ top man.
Chief executive Jamie Kett said the 2.8km national track would be complete by October 1, but there would not be a second 2009 date as once thought. The A1GP was held in Taupo, for the last time, in January.
“Hampton Downs still has the New Zealand rights to it ... but there is a possibility we could have two dates in 2010,” Kett said. He said the circuit itself could have been ready for a round later this year, but a February date would give his team a chance to get “all our ducks in a row”.
“To do an event like this and not be completely ready, would be a disservice,” he said.
But there is a chance January’s Taupo event could have been the last in this part of the world after Asia-Pacific Region A1GP general manager Greg Eaton said the event would not be financially viable without extra private or government backing.
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