Despite the announcement of a seventeen-race 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule, Mark Miles, the CEO of Hulman & Company that owns the championship, has revealed a race in Mexico City could yet be added to the calendar.
Miles revealed everyone was keen to get the confirmed races for next season out to the public, but their remains a possibility of a race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
“I think there is still a possibility of adding Mexico City for next year,” he said. “We felt like with Portland being nailed down, most of the schedule – a schedule we’re happy to have as our final schedule for next year – is set and ought to be public.
“But there is ongoing work in Mexico City to get to the track there. I think it’s quite close. We’re optimistic about the possibility [of it being added] added to the 2018 schedule.”
Miles feels the races is likely to come in between the races at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course at the end of July and at Pocono Raceway on 19 August, with the three-week gap something he would like to fill with the race in Mexico.
“If it happens, it will be in there probably just after Mid-Ohio where we have a little longer break in the middle of our summer than we’d like,” said Miles.
“Everything we know about the opportunity there is exciting – great track, great facility, obviously a huge market, a lot of open-wheel fans and IndyCar fans. We hope that can come together, but this schedule still works for us if it doesn’t.
“We have not presented a final deadline for that. It would be a combination of what they would need time-wise to be successful in promoting an event in early August. But from our perspective, it could be added down the road.”