Best of luck guys
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QMI Agency has learned a group of Calgary businessmen is in the process of
starting construction on a purpose-built road course track north of the city
that would be ready for racing by the 2015 season.
Ric Peterson, CEO of Oculus Transport Ltd., in Calgary, who this season
became an equity partner in Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in the IndyCar
series, said on Friday he is part of that group in serious talks to bring an
IndyCar race back to Alberta.
"I would really like to see a race in Calgary and I think we can get there,"
Peterson said.
"There are some people - who are here in St. Petersburg this weekend - who
are very close to putting together a purposebuilt road course just north of
Calgary, which would have great access to the airport, lots of hotels and a
freeway so it would be a great place to have a race."
He said the group is well on its way, with both planning and financing, to
get the deal done.
"Hopefully, by 2015, we could put a race in Calgary," Peterson said.
And he has the support of James Hinchcliffe, the 26-year-old Canadian behind
the wheel of the No. 27 Andretti Autosport Chevrolet.
"This is a tremendous idea," Hinchcliffe said. "It is gutting that we have
only one race in Canada."
He said the previous IndyCar forays into the west showed it can be
successful.
"Western Canada loves racing and I think there is a huge market for it so if
this all happens and we can get a proper permanent road course up there and
get IndyCar in Calgary it will be great."
What Peterson has that the failed Edmonton Indy promoters did not have is a
solid business connection to Alberta.
Besides his oil field services company, Peterson serves on the Board of
Directors for Horizon North Logistics Inc., Canyon Services Group, and
CanAir Nitrogen.
And he said Calgary's corporate culture is much stronger than that in
Edmonton.
"I think it would do corporately a whole lot better than Edmonton because of
all the head offices in Calgary," Peterson said. "Calgary would have much
more potential to sell a title sponsorship and corporate suites."
There have been previous efforts to bring IndyCar of Calgary - mostly aimed
at a temporary street course around the Stampede grounds.
This new group dismissed using the Stampede area for the race because of
logistic problems.
Peterson did say the race would have to, however, find a date that would not
conflict with the annual downtown event.
"With the Stampede we would have to be careful with the timing of the race,
but I don't think that will be an issue," he said.
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"The destructive effects of automobiles are much less a cause than a symptom of our incompetence at city building" - Jane Jacobs 1961ish
Wake me up when I can see skyscrapers
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