The Champ Car World Series today announced that it will return to Europe for the first time since 2003 with inaugural races in Holland and Belgium. Events added to the Champ Car World Series calendar will take place September 2 at the TT Circuit in Assen, Holland and September 9 at the Zolder circuit in Belgium. It will be the first time that Champ Car has raced in either of the two European nations.
“2007 continues to shape up as one of the most exciting in recent memory for Champ Car and today’s announcement raises the anticipation level even higher,” said Champ Car President Steve Johnson. “We considered a number of options for our return to Europe and these two events will prove to be very successful for our teams, fans and sponsor partners.”
The Assen circuit, long fabled for hosting exciting Grand Prix motorcycle events, underwent major modifications for the 2006 season, resulting in a 4.5-kilometer track that will provide a stern challenge for the Champ Cars.
Zolder is a 3.977-kilometer circuit which also underwent safety renovations for the 2006 season, after hosting Formula 1 events in the 1970s and 80s. The track will carry the process a step farther for the 2007 Champ Car visit, making further improvement to ensure a safe and challenging event.
“We are excited to bring the American equivalent of Formula 1 racing to Europe,” said event promoter Bart Rietbergen. “Champ Car provides close racing that is easy for European fans to understand, and they will be very impressed with the access that they will have in the Champ Car paddock.”
The addition of the two European events brings the number of races on the 2007 Champ Car schedule to 17, marking the most races on a Champ Car calendar since 2003. The last time that the series went to Europe served as the coming-out party for three-time Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais, who took his first series victories by sweeping races in Brands Hatch and EuroSpeedway Lausitz.
On the first day of the Dutch event at Assen, Champ Car fans will be able to see the action up-close, as they will have access to all public areas including the paddock. On Saturday and Sunday there are several different grandstand tickets available as well as a ‘general access’ ticket. In addition to these, paddock entry tickets will also be on sale. Special VIP passes will be available for one or more days with guests enjoying full catering, a private terrace and grandstand, VIP parking and more.
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