The head of Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya said that it "is ready to deal a blow to fellow Spanish city Valencia's hopes of a return to the Formula One calendar next year," according to Keith Weir of REUTERS. The track's Dir General Salvador Servia "played down suggestions that Barcelona, which has hosted an annual grand prix since 1991, would be forced to alternate with Valencia, which has been dropped from the schedule this season." Servia said, "We are working on next year. We have already published the ticket prices for 2014." He added that Barcelona "wanted to extend a contract that ran until 2016 to remain a permanent fixture on the calendar." Servia: "We have done 23 years of Formula One and our objective is to do another 23 years" (REUTERS, 5/11).
MONEY RULES: REUTERS' Alan Baldwin reported F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone said that the racing series "has put money into New Jersey's postponed Grand Prix of America to ensure it will go ahead next year." Ecclestone said, "There's no reason why it shouldn't happen. We've put money behind it to pay a lot of things off, a lot of their debts. So I'm hoping now we are going to get it together. We're going to try and make it happen next year" (REUTERS, 5/11).
