Racing fans eager for the return of Formula One racing may recall a proposal last year that would have seen a United States Grand Prix run in New Jersey, just across the Hudson from the Manhattan skyline.
The project went belly-up when local activists against turning Liberty State Park into a racing circuit pressured Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy to put an end to it. In its place – or so it seemed – the return of the U.S. Grand Prix was moved to Austin, Texas, where America’s first purpose-built F1 circuit is currently being constructed. One might have assumed that the Austin project won out instead of the New Jersey one, but if the latest report from The Wall Street Journal is anything to go by, it may be too early to count the Garden State out of this particular race just yet.
A new proposal is reportedly being considered to hold an F1 race across the New Jersey townships of Weehawken and West New York, which would still provide the same spectacular backdrop and quick access to and from the city. The project’s financial backers are reportedly adamant that the race and all its related expenses be privately funded and require that no tax dollars be diverted towards its orchestration.
If it were to go through, the race would potentially be held in addition to, and not instead of, the race in Texas. It wouldn’t be the first time that the United States held two F1 races: parallel grands prix – dubbed East and West – were held at Watkins Glen and Long Beach in the 1970s, while additional races were held as well in Detroit, Dallas and Las Vegas in the 1980s.
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